Wayne 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 Wayne County cohort will host their weekly sessions from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursdays, from Aug. 27 to Oct. 22, 2026. Weekly sessions will meet throughout Wayne 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.

Wayne County's field days will be on Saturday, Sept. 12 and Oct. 10, 2026. 

Wayne County Schedule 

Date

Topic

Location

Speaker

Aug. 27

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

Nankin Mills Interpretive Center,
33175 Ann Arbor Trail 

Westland, MI 48185

Rachel Hackett, MNFI

Sept. 3

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

Belle Isle Nature Center, 
176 Lakeside Dr

Detroit, MI

Anna Cone, MDNR, Anotonio Cosme, Friends of the Rouge Park, and Ryan Vance & Mike Reed, Detroit Zoological Society

Sept. 10

Terrestrial Ecosystems: Grasslands

Sibley Prarie, 

26360 West Rd

Brownstown Township, MI 48134

Tyler Bassett, MNFI

Saturday, 

Sept. 12

Field Day: Terrestrial Ecosystems

Palmer Park Detroit Exploration and Nature (DEN),
1313 W Seven Mile Rd

Detroit, MI 48203

Detroit Partnership for Food, Innovation and Learning (DPFLI)

16745 Lamphere

Detroit, MI 48219

Kate Gmyrek, City of Detroit, Roberta Henrion, Friends of Palmer Park, and Naim Edwards, MSU Extension

Sept. 17

Aquatic Ecosystems: Wetlands

Detroit International Wildlife Refuge/Lake Erie Metropark,
5437 W Jefferson Ave

Trenton, MI 48183 

Bob Burns, Friends of the Detroit River

Sept. 24

Aquatic Ecosystems: Rivers/Streams

Ralph C. Wilson Park,
1801 W Jefferson Ave

Detroit, MI 48216

Erin Parker, Kevin Arnold, Huron-Clinton Metroparks, Kamryn Gardner & Ella Cramer, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy

Oct. 1

Aquatic Ecosystems: Inland/Great Lakes

Lake Erie Metropark,
32481 W Jefferson Ave

Brownstown Township, MI 48173 

To Be Announced

Oct. 8

Terrestrial Ecosystems: Forests 

Maybury State Park Trailhead Shelter, 
49601 8 Mile Rd

Northville, MI 48167 

Therese Poland, Forest Service Research

Saturday, Oct. 10

Field Day: Paddling Experience with FOTR

To Be Announced

Herman Jenkins, FOTR

Oct. 15

Break - No Class

Oct. 22

Putting it All Together: Capstone Project Celebration

MSU Detroit Center,
3408 Woodward Ave

Detroit, MI 48201 

Jamie Burton, Hubbell, Roth & Clark 

For cohort and content related questions, please reach out to Lisa Perez at lisa.perez@usda.gov, or Bindu Bhakta at bhaktabi@msu.edu. 

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