St. Clair County
Thank you for your interest in the Michigan State University Extension Michigan Conservation Stewards Program (CSP), an educational program for those who are enthusiastic about learning science-based ecosystem management principles and sharing this knowledge with others to help improve their local communities. Through this program, participants will learn essential strategies to understand and help restore and conserve ecosystems in Michigan communities.
The St. Clair County cohort will host their weekly evening sessions on Wednesdays from 6-8:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 to Nov. 15, 2023. Weekly evening sessions will meet throughout St. Clair county. Exact locations and speakers will be announced once available. Please note, there will not be weekly evening sessions on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8, 2023.
The St. Clair County cohort's field trips will be on Sept. 23 and Oct. 7, 2023.
St. Clair County Schedule
Date |
Topic |
Location |
Speaker |
Sept. 13 |
Program Orientation; Foundations of Conservation: Ecological Foundations; What is a Natural Community? |
Mid-Michigan Materials |
Prof. Robert Hunckler, St. Clair Co. Community College |
Sept. 20 |
Foundations of Conservation: Society & Conservation |
Goodells County Park |
Dennis Delor, St. Clair County Parks |
Sat., Sept 23, 1/2-day field trip |
Aquatic Field Trip: Macroinvertebrates and More |
Pine River Nature Center |
Sarah Nelson, PRNC, and Erica Clites, MI Sea Grant |
Sept. 27 |
Aquatic Ecosystems: Lakes |
Fort Gratiot Light Station |
Andrew Briggs, MDNR |
Oct. 4 |
Aquatic Ecosystems: Streams |
Thumb Coast Watershed Center |
Sheri Faust, Friends of the St. Clair River staff |
Sat., Oct. 7, 1/2-day field trip |
Terrestrial Field Trip: Botany and Ecology of the Blue Water Area |
TBD |
Phyllis Higman and Tyler Bassett, MNFI |
Oct. 11 |
Aquatic Ecosystems: Wetlands |
Anchor Bay Woods Preserve |
Ian Ableson, Six Rivers Land Conservancy |
Oct. 18 |
Terrestrial Ecosystems: Forests |
Columbus County Park |
Larry Cornelis, Lambton Wildlife, Inc. |
Oct. 25 |
Terrestrial Ecosystems: Grasslands |
Port Huron State Game Area |
Kaitlyn Barnes, MDNR |
Nov. 1 |
No Class |
|
|
Nov. 8 |
No Class |
|
|
Nov. 15 |
Putting it All Together: Capstone Project Celebration |
Goodells County Park |
Kirsten Lyons, St. Clair County Parks |
For cohort and content related questions, please reach out to Kirsten Lyons at klyons@stclaircounty.org.
For general questions and registration assistance, please contact Shelby Warner at warner80@msu.edu or 517-884-7076.