Fostering future stewards of the forest
One of the best things about living in the parts of Michigan that Great Lakes Energy serves is the abundant opportunities to enjoy nature.
Perhaps one of the best and biggest of these opportunities is in the Pigeon River Country State Forest. At roughly 12 miles wide, 20 miles long, and about 115,000 acres, it is the largest block of contiguous undeveloped land in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
Located just a few miles east of Vanderbilt, the forest offers hiking trails, camping, horseback riding, canoeing, fishing, elk viewing, sinkholes, and much more. The forest provides visitors a biologically rich retreat into the wilderness of northern Michigan which serves as a reminder of the importance of healthy forests, high-quality watersheds, and thriving populations of plants and animals.
Nestled within the forest is the Pigeon River Discovery Center, which is dedicated to increasing visitors’ awareness and appreciation for the land, wildlife, and history of the Pigeon River Country and to fostering a new generation of forest stewards and protectors.
In 2024, the Pigeon River Country Association, the parent organization of the Pigeon River Discovery Center, received a $2,000 People Fund grant to help it achieve this goal. The grant helped pay for two new youth-focused educational programs and a new video projector and screen for use in many facets of the center’s programming.
Rudi Edel, the center’s board chairman, said the grant allowed the center to reach more than 300 youth between June and October thanks to the enhanced programming it supported.
Make it and take it
One of the grant-supported educational programs consisted of seven family-focused events that provided children with nature education through hands-on projects. Each event had two parts: a lesson and a “make-and-take” activity. Lessons were not only classroom-style instruction but also opportunities to learn about the natural world in an outdoor setting. Examples of lessons included guided nature walks showcasing different types of trees or games matching animals to their habitats. Children then made or built something related to what they’ve learned which they took home with them.
Featuring topics including mammals, birds, and plants, the program was tailored for children ages preschool through 8th grade and served families from both northern Michigan and visitors from other areas who were camping in the state forest campgrounds.
Rudi said the goal of this program is to foster appreciation and enjoyment of nature in general and the Pigeon River Country State Forest in particular.
“The format is meant to be fun, and not as intimidating as standard classroom instruction,” Rudi said. “While our annual Community Event Series always includes several family-friendly programs, few are specifically designed just for children. The ‘make-and-take’ program filled this gap,” Rudi added.
Ready, set, go!
The center is within an hour’s drive of 36 public elementary and middle schools. Since it opened in 2018, the center has offered customized educational programs at the request of area teachers. However, the center regularly gets requests from teachers for a selection of “off-the-shelf” or “ready-to-go” programs that they can choose from.
Thanks to the People Fund grant, the center created a series of these programs, which are now available to school groups, scout groups, and others on short notice.
Program topics include elk, plants, mammals, birds, and forest fires. All of the programs include elements of nature journaling and compass and map-reading skills. Many of the programs include ideas and activities adapted from the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies’ Project WILD. Each program has an elementary and middle school version and, with the help of a Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife interpreter, is designed to correlate with state and national learning standards.
“These programs give teachers another tool to help expand the lessons they are teaching in the classroom through first-hand exposure to the concepts,” Rudi said.
Rudi said the youth-centered programs the People Fund grant supported are meaningful to him on a personal level.
“I’m a steward of the forest. I want to protect it. But the future stewards are the kids and if we want this forest to remain an asset to the population in the future, we have to educate the kids about it.
Anyone interested in bringing a class or youth group to the center to take part in one of the classes should email [email protected] to make arrangements. Teachers or group leaders should contact the center at least two weeks before the requested visit date.
The discovery center is funded entirely through grants and donations to its parent organization, the Pigeon River Country Association. The center is staffed almost exclusively by volunteers.
The Pigeon River Discovery Center is usually open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays and noon-4 p.m. on Sundays from the last weekend in April until the last weekend in October.
To learn more about the Pigeon River Discovery Center or the Pigeon River Country Association – including how to donate or become a volunteer – visit: pigeonriverdiscoverycenter.org/
Since its inception in 1999, Great Lakes Energy’s People Fund has awarded more than $4.8 million in grants to nonprofit organizations that serve GLE’s 26-county service area. Grants are funded by participating GLE members who agree to have their monthly electric bill rounded up to the next whole dollar. To learn more about the People Fund, including how to sign up, how nonprofit organizations can apply for a grant, and a list of recent grant recipients, visit gtlakes.com/people-fund.
