Berrien County

Thank you for your interest in the 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 Berrien County cohort will host their weekly sessions from 6-9 p.m. on Thursdays, from Aug. 27 to Oct. 22, 2026. Weekly sessions will meet throughout Berrien county at the locations listed in the chart below. Location details and more information will be distributed to registered participants in the middle of August. Please note, there will not be a weekly session on Oct. 15, 2026.

Berrien County's field days will be on Saturday, Sept. 12 and Oct. 3, 2026. 

Berrien County Schedule 

Date

Topic

Location

Speaker

Aug. 27

Program Orientation; Foundations of Conservation: Ecological Foundations; What is a Natural Community?

Love Creek County Park, 
9292 Huckleberry Road
Berrien Center, MI 49102

Alex Florian, CISMA, and Dan Engel, COL

Sept. 3

Foundations of Conservation: Society & Conservation/Conservation Heritage; Indigenous Perspectives on Conservation (Past and Current)

Bridgman Library,

4460 Lake Street

Bridgman, MI 49106 

Vic Bogosian, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, and Amy Gillan & Pat Fisher, Vernal Pool Patrol

Sept. 10

Terrestrial Ecosystems: Grasslands

Fernwood Botanical Garden, 

13988 Range Line Road

Niles, MI 49120 

Mitch Lettow & Alice Dykstra, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy

Saturday,

Sept. 12

Field Day: Great Lakes Coastal Marsh

Galien River Marsh, 

17177 Red Arrow Hwy

New Buffalo, MI 49117 

Nathaniel Pilla, Midwest Biological Survey, and Grace Fredenberg, COL

Sept. 17

Aquatic Ecosystems: Wetlands

Sarett Nature Center, 

2300 N Benton Center Road

Benton Harbor, MI 49022 

Nate Fuller & Juliet Golob, Sarett Nature Center

Sept. 24

Aquatic Ecosystems: Rivers and Streams

Warren Woods Ecological Field Station, 

7400 Warren Woods Road

Three Oaks, MI 49128

Matt Meersman, St. Joseph River Basin Commission, and Peg Kohring Cichon
Oct. 1

 

Aquatic Ecosystems: Inland and Great Lakes

Tower Hill Camp, Marshall Hall, 

12173 Tower Hill Road

Sawyer, MI 49125 

 

Erin Fuller, Van Buren Conservation District, and Sharon Gill, Western Michigan University

Sat., Oct. 3

Field Day: Great Lakes Dunes

Warren Dunes State Park, 

12032 Red Arrow Hwy

Sawyer, MI 49125 

Tyler Lidgard, MDNR, Mike Latus, and Wayne Gleiber

Oct. 8

Terrestrial Ecosystems: Forests

Warren Woods Ecological Field Station, 

7400 Warren Woods Road

Three Oaks, MI 49128

Mike Denman, Rooted IN Forestry, and Maarten Vonhof, Western Michigan University

Oct. 15

Break - No Class

Oct. 22

Putting it All Together: Capstone Project Celebration

Weko Beach House,

5239 Lake Street

Bridgman, MI 49106 

Pat Fisher, Amy Gillan, and Doug Morris

For cohort and content related questions, please reach out to Amy Gillan at agillan@saintmarys.edu.

For general questions and registration assistance, please contact Shelby Warner at warner80@msu.edu.