Newaygo County Environmental Coalition

06/15/2026

Did you know the common barberry hedge increases tick populations? Or that Oriental Bittersweet planted for the aesthetic of it's berries is strong enough to pull down whole trees? These are just some of the downsides of invasive plants in your landscaping.

What's more, native alternatives exist that are both beautiful and have benefits like Serviceberry's edible fruits and Aster's source of nectar for pollinators.

If you want to learn more, visit our blog for a guide on replacing common, invasive cultivars with environmentally friendly options.

06/14/2026

Can you believe this photo was taken with a cellphone camera? Join us to learn how to take awesome photographs of our tiniest neighbors!
Tuesday, 6pm, at the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

We'll have a local naturalist guide us through the worlds of insect life, and capturing the little details with your phone. Then outside to the prairie installation for some practice.

On Saturday, we'll meet up at the Michigan Nature Association's Bigelow Creek Nature sanctuary for further practice, and to give back to these ecosystems that give us so much. Bring your phone, and some gloves, and a hungry belly for lunch! Food will be served at noon!

Links to registration in the comments!

06/10/2026

Site Prep is Complete!

On Monday, NCEC and MRWA volunteers took the next step preparing our pollinator installation site at Ed H. Henning County Park. We already killed the grass, so the soil will be easier to dig into and the plant babies we install will have less competition.

Special shout-out to Becky; thanks for lending your hands and your expertise!

If you'd like to be part of the next (and arguably most fun!) step, follow this link to register for the planting day! https://www.facebook.com/events/1962015551857081

06/10/2026

Join us this Saturday at our Wild (Gardening) Party!

Come to learn, plant, and to purchase some locally grown native plants for your own garden! 🌱🌾

In partnership with MRWA Friends of the Muskegon Newaygo Chapter, NCEC will be installing our first step on the Pollinator Pathway. Our goal is to connect habitats so that all types of pollinators can move throughout the area to find food, shelter, and breeding partners. This effort needs many hands to create spaces that will sustain our natural world.

You will learn about and get hands on experience installing a garden that tends itself and supports all kinds of life with native plants. Plant 5 or 50, however much you feel called to help with. Any and all help is appreciated.
Share a little time and your enthusiasm!

We'll be at the Henning Park Boat Launch in Newaygo, from 10am until 3pm (or whenever we’re done!) Lunch will be served to volunteers around noon.

The gate fee will be waived for this event.

See you on Saturday!

06/08/2026

Read our easy guide to replacing common, invasive garden cultivars with beautiful, native plants that have a similar aesthetic and also benefit our ecosystem!

06/07/2026

Volunteers Needed!
NCEC and the Friends of the Muskegon, Newaygo Chapter need a couple more hands on deck for the next stage of our Henning Park Garden Installation TOMORROW. We'll be laying down newspaper and moving mulch to cover the area. It's time to get everything ready for the planting on Saturday! 🌾🌱

06/03/2026

A few photo uploads from the places you already know could help put more Michigan waters on the statewide AIS map! That is the focus of a live Zoom webinar next week with Jo Latimore and Erick Elgin on June 9 at 11:00 a.m.

During the webinar, Jo and Erick will walk through the 2026 MiCorps AIS Detection Blitz and show how people across Michigan can use the free iNaturalist app to document aquatic invasive species in lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, ponds, and shorelines.

This matters because aquatic invasive species observations are still not very common on a global platform like iNaturalist. That gives us a real opportunity to build better data for Michigan and get more of our waters on the map. iNaturalist is already widely used for citizen science projects and bioblitzes of all sizes, from global efforts to regional events. If you already know where invasive species are showing up, this is an easy way to document them. If you are not fully sure what you come across while exploring, you can still upload it and the iNaturalist community can help with identification.

The 2026 MiCorps AIS Detection Blitz runs June 29 through July 12 - the same timeline as the Great Lakes Landing Blitz. This live webinar is a great way to get ready.

Register here:
https://msu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hWFyR6bwTPmAZxMDBA_YIw #/registration

Learn more about the 2026 MiCorps AIS Detection Blitz here:
https://www.micorps.net/events/aisblitz

05/29/2026

NCEC, along with other bird loving groups will be there. Come check it out!

Newaygo Conservation District is an independent unit of state government which has a philosophy and commitment to the stewardship and conservation of the environment. The NCD consults with landowners...

05/25/2026

Witness the Magic of the first flight of Karner Blue Butterflies, a federally endangered species who calls our Oak savannas home this Sunday, May 31st at 10am to 12am.

Join us at Bigelow Creek Nature Sanctuary, MNA's newest property in Newaygo County, for a guided Karner Blue Butterfly flight tour. Walk the land with local naturalists, learn how Karners depend on our native habitats, and see firsthand what careful stewardship looks like on the ground.

More details and registration here: https://www.facebook.com/events/965820573106033

05/25/2026

How are your native plant winter seed sowing containers? I had 70
60 have produced. Getting ready to repot soon.

* NCEC is having a native plant sale at our native plant corridor installatipn with Muskegon River Watershed Assembly on 6/4/24.