Welcoming the new Ottawa County Parks & Recreation Director
Ottawa County welcomed a new Parks Director to the team in June. Jason Shamblin, his wife Allison and three children, Grayson, Griffin and Madelyn officially relocated to Ferrysburg over the summer.
The Shamblin Family previously vacationed in the area and it was during a visit they decided that West Michigan was a place they could call home. “During my first visit to Ottawa County, I was amazed by diversity of natural resources here, as well as the public support of the parks that is apparent by the quality of the parks.”
Read more about our new Parks Director here.
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This summer, Ottawa County Parks was awarded a $3.82 million grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) to complete the acquisition of Ottawa Sands. This grant, along with $200,000 of privately-raised funds by the Land Conservancy of West Michigan, funded the second phase of property acquisition.
The first phase of acquisition was made possible by a $4.2 million grant from the MNRTF in 2018 which was used to purchase just over half of the property. The Land Conservancy purchased the remaining land by securing a loan from The Conservation Fund and leased its 157 acres to Ottawa County Parks for management, so the park could open to the public in 2018.
We are so excited to celebrate the acquisition of this property and invite you to join us for a special event.
Ottawa County Parks applied for a Coastal Zone Management grant to initiate a master plan for the site, including an inventory and analysis of the site’s natural features. If approved, this process would begin this fall. The plan would determine the feasibility of the site for recreation facilities, including lake and riverfront access and camping. Public input is a crucial component of the master plan and there will be several opportunities for public comment. To be notified of opportunities for public comment, please sign up here.
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Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Ottawa Beach Marina, Kayak Launch, and Park Township Plaza dedication event in Holland in August! Many of our grant partners were in attendance and were impressed with the turnout. The marina will be open until October 31, 2019, with transient slips available to reserve online: michigan.gov/harbors
Event photos by Mike Lozon; ribbon cutting photo by Linda Anderson
 
In addition to the many maintenance tasks completed this summer, work has continued on several major projects:
 Restoration at Riverside Park in Robinson Township was delayed this year due to high water levels. The DNR offered an extension of grant funds and the permits received are valid for multiple years.
Homeschool Nature Programs
Are you homeschooling and looking for a way to get your kids outside and exploring, engaging, and discovering in nature?
We are offering two series of courses, EARLY Explorers for ages 5-9 and ECO Explorers for ages 10-14.
Learn more and sign up online.
More Nature Center programs and special events for adults, children, and families are listed below and can be found online.
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Ottawa Walks are weekly, neighborhood group walks led by volunteers. They are free, family-friendly, and found all over the county.
NORTHEAST
Tuesdays, 6 pm • Grand Ravines (North)
Saturdays, 8:30 am • Grand Ravines (South)
NORTHWEST
Mondays, 6 pm • Duncan Woods in Grand Haven
Fridays, 10:30 am • Central Park in Spring Lake
SOUTHWEST
Thursdays, 6 pm • Hemlock Crossing
SOUTHEAST
Wednesdays, 5:30 pm • Location Varies
Registration required to obtain schedule: (616) 748-2834
Thursdays, 5 pm • Upper Macatawa Natural Area (84th Ave)
This schedule is valid through October 25. Specific meeting location, length of walks, schedule changes, and other details can be found online: https://miottawa.org/ottawawalks
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Creating Connections
The Ottawa County Parks Foundation partnered with Ottawa County Parks and Georgetown Township to help fund two new sections of the Idema Explorers Trail that were constructed this year.
The funding from these organizations leveraged a grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).
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“We are very enthused about this project because it connects the university to our area’s wonderful parks, is safer for students as well as residents, and is one more step in the county’s plan to preserve the beauty and heritage of the region.”
Loren Rullman, Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at GVSU
Read the full release here.
 The Idema Explorers Trail is being constructed in phases along the south side of the Grand River. Once completed, the trail will be 35 miles in length and will connect together eight county and state parks in Ottawa County!
Shared Connections
In addition to construction, the planning of a robust interpretive network along the trail route, the Shared Connections Project, has launched. The goal is to create a 45-mile “outdoor classroom” to share the long flowing narrative of the river and its people with trail users.
The story will begin in downtown Grand Rapids, near the (future) restored rapids and exposed bedrock sharing its ecological, economic, and historic importance.
As you travel down the river, you would be immersed in its history, learning how people related to the river and its adjacent lands from the past to the present.
It is hoped that this project will lead to something truly remarkable: a distinctive educational experience that utilizes multiple storytelling methods to reveal the river, its people, and its past, present, and future anew.
Special Event
 The Ottawa County Parks Foundation invites you to discover fall with us at the Ottawa County Nature Center at Hemlock Crossing on Sunday, September 15 from 3 to 5 PM. Join us and meet the new Ottawa County Parks Director and enjoy family fun activities. A $10 donation per family is suggested at the door.
Guests can look forward to...
- Wildlife Encounter program all about monarchs butterflies
- Discover Monarchs Nature Hike
- Monarch Craft Project
- Story time presented by The Bookman
- Naturalist-led kayak trips on the Pigeon River (ages 10+)
- Meet the cutest and hungriest Ottawa County Parks employees... goats Brady and Tom (or Tom Brady, if you're a Pats fan)
- Self led Autumn Sensory Scavenger Hunt (Trail). Pick up a form at registration and return the completed form to be entered into a drawing for a door prize.
- Plein-Air Artist at work
View the full program online here.
Open House events
Hosted by the Friends of Ottawa County Parks
Weaver House at Pine Bend: September 15 and October 20, 1-3 pm
Grand Ravines Lodge: Every Sunday in September and October, 1-5 pm
Friends of Ottawa County Parks Annual Meeting
September 18, 6-9 pm at the Weaver House at Pine Bend
Each year at their annual meeting the Friends of Ottawa County Parks provides a presentation to the general public. Join them to learn more about the organization. Light meal provided.
Winter Open House... with Santa!
December 1, 1-4 pm
Santa and Mrs. Claus are returning by popular demand to the Nature Center at Hemlock Crossing County Park!
Enjoy refreshments and capture the scene as little ones have a special talk with Santa & Mrs. Claus. Make sure to bring your own camera. There will be craft activities in the classroom and things to explore in the Wildlife Den.
The Ottawa County Parks & Recreation Commission is lucky to have a dedicated volunteer base. This quarter we are recognizing Linda Anderson for her excellent work at the Nature Center.
 Linda is a skilled master naturalist and master gardener who helped park staff do some necessary maintenance on the overgrown garden areas in front of the facility. Linda began planning in December 2018 and since has:
- Mulched and composted
- Identified the plants that were growing in the area
- Removed weeds and over-aggressive plants
- Re-arranged for aesthetics (i.e. taller plants in the back)
- Selected and planted new species
- Created a catalog of native plants
- Created signage for the garden
”What is most special to me about working on the native gardens is seeing the plants thrive and all the insects and critters among them. I also enjoy trying to figure out what is what since I didn’t plant the gardens.”
Her advice to those looking to start their own native garden (and we hope you do!) is to remember that like all gardens, native ones need maintenance. Here are some of her tips:
- Dead-head early flowers to limit plants the next year
- Leave plants standing over winter to provide insects homes to survive, but clean up debris in the spring (when the temperature is over 50°)
- Don’t be upset if something dies—some plants do well, others won’t. Don’t be afraid to pull and/or move plants.
- Plant the right plant in the right spot: sunny versus shade, dry versus wet conditions, sand versus clay soil.
Learn how to start your own native plant garden...
Attract bird, bees, butterflies, and more to your garden by adding native plants! The Ottawa Conservation District is hosting a fall plant sale at the Nature Education Center this September. Pre-order is recommended but not required.
Vern Stephens, an expert on native Michigan plants, will discuss the benefits of their use in landscapes and gardens and provide suggestions for landscape or garden projects at a workshop prior to the sale.
View the catalog and pre-order online. Questions? Call: (616) 842-5852, ext. 5 | Email: ottawacd@macd.org
 The workday schedule can be found online. Click here for dates, times, and locations.
Progress continues to be made locally and statewide with hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). Parks staff and volunteers have finished surveying lakeshore properties and Hemlock Crossing Park and are making progress at Ottawa Sands and Port Sheldon Natural Area. Infested trees discovered at North Ottawa Dunes, Ottawa Sands and Historic Ottawa Beach Parks will be treated this fall by Parks staff.
As of July, over 6,000 trees have been treated by the West Michigan Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (WMCISMA) crew, and their work continues, assisting the City of Grand Haven in managing HWA. Additionally, DNR crews have treated many of the state parks.
Thanks to the financial support of Ottawa County, the WMCISMA purchased equipment that can be lent to partner organizations to treat HWA, building capacity for management across the region. Ottawa County funds also helped bring the annual HWA managers meeting to Michigan for the first time. At this meeting biologists from the Eastern U.S. and Canada discussed current and future management strategies
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