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New Year to Offer New Park Improvements and Programs
The Nature Park will see many new
additions in 2006. The long awaited MDNR grant has
been approved, and work will begin soon. Additions
will include 1900 linear feet of boardwalk, which
will replace the existing natural, flood prone,
trail. Three new river overlooks will also be
installed. Many new high quality interpretive signs
will be placed throughout the park to indicate areas
of special environmental importance.
Some of the new additions are
already installed. A new native plant interpretive
garden has been installed next to and across from
the playground area. There are over 80 species of
flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees planted in this
area, which will all have new identification markers
installed this Spring.
Another new addition is the prairie
observation platform, which is located toward the
South section of the park and gives a great view of
the prairie. The platform stands only three feet
high, but allows viewers to see the entire upper
portion of the park. The platform was designed and
built by Eagle Scout Tim Getner and ScoutTroop #
206.
There will be periods of trail
closings during the construction of the new
additions, primarily the boardwalk and river
outlooks. Construction may take a few months or
more. We ask all park visitors to please be patient
and abide by the trail closings, for your own safety
and to not interrupt construction.
The Nature Park is always looking to
expand the types of programs offered. New and unique
public programs this year include a dog sled
demonstration, alternative heating options,
alternative energy uses, and rain garden
installation. See the back page for the upcoming
programs for this Winter.
What type of programs are you
interested in? Contact the Nature Park by phone
listed below or by email
ftnp@comcast.net
Alternative
Options for Staying Warm
With the increasing cost of natural
gas, home heating has become a costly issue. There
are a variety of options that can be taken to reduce
your energy bills and even the dependence on natural
gas or electric.
One of the first things that can be
done is to check for drafts and to see how well
insulated your home is. Insulation is relatively
inexpensive and will reduce your need for heat no
matter what heating source you use.
Another easy thing to do is to
install a programmable thermometer. Energy can be
saved when you are not at home or when you are
sleeping, if you get cold while in bed, use another
blanket and cuddle with your spouse, most
relationships could use more cuddling anyway. The
following website gives tips on saving energy and
weather proofing your home.
www.bundlemeup.org/tips.htm
Now if you want to get serious about
saving energy, not relying on gas, and helping the
environment, there are options. These options
require more money up front, but will give years of
money savings. One method is to use an ultra
efficient burning stove. Biomass stoves, corn
stoves, pellet stoves or rocket stoves can be very
good options especially for homes less than 2,000
square feet. These stoves are designed to radiate
heat through the house. All of these stoves are very
efficient, are thermostatically controlled, and
leave a small amount of ash for clean up. The
following is an excerpt from this website
www.the-home-improvement-web.com/information/alternative-home-heating.htm
"The cost of operating a biomass
stove is approximately $6 per million Btu. For
propane, the cost is about $13 per million Btu,
while heating oil costs around $18 per million Btu.
And while you're saving money, the biomass industry
opens up a new market for farmers and their crops,
while also decreasing America's dependence on
foreign fossil fuel sources."
Another heating alternative is a
radiant heated floor system. This system heats the
floors in the house by running hot water through
plastic lines that are installed under the
flooring. The heat then warms you and your house
from the ground up and provides more consistent heat
throughout the house. The heat is more of a damp
heat, which increases moisture in the air, helping
to eliminate dry skin and static electricity. Also
their is no forced air, which reduces the dust and
other pollutants circulating in the house, making
the air healthier to breath. Possibly the lowest
impact on natural resources would be using a solar
panel to heat the water that is circulated through a
radiant heated floor system. To learn more about
this alternative heating option visit
www.hometips.com/cs-protected/guides/radiant.html
Look for an upcoming program on
alternative heating sources offered by the Nature
Park.
Christmas Items to Reuse
Throughout the Year
The Christmas season is a magical
time of year, but it can also be busy, hectic and
expensive. Here are some simple things you can do to
reduce costs and possibly continue the Christmas
spirit a little longer in the year.
* Reuse old boxes, bows, bags and
tissue paper from your opened Christmas presents,
this will save you some money and reduce trash.
Reuse is better than recycle.
* Take used pieces of Christmas
wrapping paper to make a collage. You can then
overlay pictures from your Christmas celebrations.
* Take old Christmas cards and cut
out portions of the card to be used as an ornament.
Write a bible verse on the back. Also can use cards
to make gift tags, or put a card in a picture frame.
* A live Christmas tree can be
reused by setting it up outside and place bird
friendly ornaments on it. This is a great way to
keep a little Christmas spirit and attract many
beautiful birds.
* Purchase LED Christmas lights. LED
lights use far less energy (7 times more efficient
than mini lights), the bulbs last much longer and
are made of hard plastic making them more durable.
Bird food ornament recipes.
Birds use allot of energy to stay
warm in winter. They need high energy food found in
suet.
Suet Recipe - a fun recipe
Mix 3 parts bird feed with 1 part
peanut butter and 1 part suet / animal fat.
Optional : add nuts, berries.
Once mixed place in a mold of some
kind and freeze. Place out for birds to enjoy.
Molds can be made from toilet paper
rolls, small plastic container. A suet wreath can
be made by purchasing a pre-made jello container,
after eating the jello, use the container for a
mold, it can be reused over and over again.
Community
Calendar
Genesee Audubon
Meeting start at 7:30 at Mott
College (Prahl Center - Genesee Room)
February 13 - Birds of Costa Rica
March 13, - Piping Plover
Recycling Works Make It Work For
You
Thursday, January 12th from 5:30 -
7:30pm Flushing Jr. High 409 Chamberlain
St.
Brought to you by Genesee County
Planning Comm. Call 810-257-3010 for additional
dates and locations.
WINTER CAMPING/BACKPACKING
January 28 - 29 (Sat - Sun)
Sierra Club - call (810) 658-0406 for more info
Flint River Wild Ones
Meeting start at 7:00 at Mott
College (Prahl Center - Genesee Room)
January 12th Native Plant Portraits
February 9th Combinations * Design
with guest speaker Bill Schnieder of Wildtype
Nurseries
March 9th Invasive Species *
Prescribed Burning with guest speaker Dave Mindell
of Plantwise Native Landscapes
April 13th Installation * this
meeting will be held at Flushing Township Nature
Park
Flushing Walleye Festival
March 10th - 12th
Held at the Flushing VFW
Activities will include fishing, fish weigh ins,
trout pond, pancake breakfast, outdoor related
vendors, presentations on bats, the quality of the
the Flint River, fishing tackle exchange, and much
more.
Schedule of Events hosted by
FTNP
All programs are free unless
specified**
Owl Prowl
Friday, January 13th
9:00 - 10:30 pm
Winter Bird Hike and Bird Suet
Project
Saturday, January 21st
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Owl Prowl - Adults Only
Friday , January 27th
11:00 pm - 12:30 am
How to Acheive Energy Savings
Saturday, February 11th from 10:00 - 11:30 am
Will take place at the Flushing Township Hall
located at 6524 N. Seymour Road
Guest speaker from Urban Options in East Lansing
Owl Prowl
Friday, February 3rd
9:00 - 10:30 pm
Dog Sled Demonstration
Saturday, February 25th
10: 00 am - ?
See live dogs and all the gear, get a chance to take
a ride.
Winter Tree Identification
Saturday, February 18th
10 - 11:30 am
Fishing Tackle Exchange program
March 10 - 12
During Flushing Walleye Festival at the Flushing VFW
Trade in your toxic fishing tackle for lead free
tackle
Flushing Township Nature Park
8301 N. McKinley Road
Flushing, MI. 48433
Phone: 810-639-6161
Fax: 659-4212
Email:
ftnp@comcast.net
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