Interested in getting outdoors and learning about the environment around you? Join us for our Fall 2024 Adopt-A-Stream event! Volunteers do not need experience in water quality or macroinvertebrate identification. Students aged 13 and up are welcome to participate if accompanied by an adult.

On collection day, volunteers will work in teams to collect macroinvertebrates from different sites along the Upper Grand River. Volunteers can either wade in the water and collect bugs or stay dry on land and help sort the bugs.

Help us to increase information on the ecological quality of Michigan rivers! The bugs we find will help us track the health of the river over time.

Email darby.stipe@macd.org to sign up!

Leona Addie works as the Great Lakes Regional Manager for the Old-Growth Forest Network, a national nonprofit focused on protecting, celebrating and sharing experiences in our nation’s oldest forests. For this presentation, we’ll learn to identify features of old-growth forests, where to find them, discuss their importance to the community and water, and how to help protect them.

Click here to register for this event.

Join Vern Stephens, of Designs by Nature, to learn more about how you can use native plants in your urban landscaping projects.

Designs By Nature is a greenhouse in Laingsburg Michigan that grows only native plants of Michigan Genotypes.

Click here to register for this event.

Gardening for Pollinators – What are the alterNATIVES? Preferential planting of native plants to support local pollinators and ecosystems has been heavily promoted. Is it all hype or is there compelling evidence that native butterflies, bees, and birds prefer, and benefit more, from native versus non-native landscape plants? Inspired in part by Doug Tallamy’s Bringing Nature Home, this presentation will set forth in an easy-to-understand manner, multiple lines of published scientific evidence documenting the significant impact our landscape choices have on local ecosystem health, especially on butterfly and bird populations.

Click here to register for this event.

Vince Ste. Marie and his family own Windy Rock Farm and Nursery in Manchester, MI, and were chemical-free beekeepers for ten years. In 2016 they opened an on-farm retail specialty nursery offering primarily Michigan native flowering trees, flowering shrubs, and perennial wildflowers of benefit to pollinators. They are open to the public, helping homeowners and small-scale landscapers readily access native plants for pollinator gardens, rain gardens, and other small-scale native landscape projects. They have hosted numerous Michigan Master Gardener and Michigan Garden Club meetings, field trips, tours, and educational days at their farm-nursery. Vince has been an invited speaker on pollinators and pollinator gardening at many gardening and beekeeping related conferences, club meetings, and community educational events.

Recycling is an important step in reducing waste that goes to landfills and protecting our environment. Join us to learn about what happens to your recycling and some of the quirks of recycling. Find out what those chasing arrows mean and the new recycling symbol system. You’ll also find out what you need to know about recycling batteries!

Click here to register for this event.

Steve Noble is a Jackson County resident and operates Recycling Jackson.  He is employed by the state of Michigan and is a recycling specialist focusing on electronics and battery recycling. Recycling Jackson is a small non-profit organization that focuses on recycling hard to recycle items such as bulbs, batteries, electronics, Styrofoam, paint and standard recyclables.

Join us to discuss the negative impacts related to invasive species, learn about some species to keep an eye out for, and steps to prevent their spread to new areas.

Click here to register for this event.

Shikha Singh is the coordinator for the  JLW CISMA (Jackson Lenawee Washtenaw Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area). She has a BSc. in Biology from University of Western Ontario, and her master’s and PhD at Michigan State University from the Dept.  of Fisheries and Wildlife.  She has been working on Great Lakes environmental issues for the 19+ years in the fields of water conservation and invasion biology. She works to assist residents and partners in identifying invasive species, providing management information, and how to prevent their spread to new areas.   She also gives talks on strategies to increase accessibility and participation related to natural resources outreach and education.  Outside of work, Shikha also enjoys nature photography, cooking and playing soccer.  

The August meeting of the board will be held on Tuesday, August 27th at 8:00am in the meeting room (suite 240) of the District office located at 211 W. Ganson St. All meetings are open to the public.

Interested in getting outdoors and learning about the environment around you? Join us for our Spring 2024 Adopt-A-Stream event! Volunteers do not need experience in water quality or macroinvertebrate identification. Students aged 13 and up are welcome to participate if accompanied by an adult.

On collection day, volunteers will work in teams to collect macroinvertebrates from different sites along the Upper Grand River. Volunteers can either wade in the water and collect bugs or stay dry on land and help sort the bugs.

Help us to increase information on the ecological quality of Michigan rivers! The bugs we find will help us track the health of the river over time.

Join us for our Earth Day in the Park celebration! Vendors will provide children’s activities, kayaking (weather pending), face-painting, tree seedling and plant giveaways, live animals and more!! To be a vendor or sponsor contact Darby at darby.stipe@macd.org.

The February meeting of the board will be held on Tuesday, February 27th at 8:00am in the meeting room (suite 240) of the District office located at 211 W. Ganson St. All meetings are open to the public.

The next HHW Collection will be on September 21st in the Jackson County DOT lot on the corner of N. Elm St. and Chanter Rd. PLEASE USE CHANTER RD. ENTRANCE. Reservations are required and there is a $20 per vehicle fee. Click here for a list of accepted items. Reservation site will go live in late March.

JCCD will hold the 2nd Annual JW Memorial Ag Tire Collection Day on Saturday, August 26th at Fitzgibbons Fleet Fabricators/ Michigan Sany, 3325 Cisco St., Jackson. For event limits and other important information, please click here for the event flyer.

JCCD will be collecting passenger sized tires at the Jackson County Fairgrounds (Keeley Park). Must be a Jackson County resident. NO OVER-SIZED OR TRACTOR TIRES AND NO BUSINESSES!

This talk is geared towards county and municipal staff, volunteers and partners interested in learning more about invasive species. Registration is required. Click here for more information.