Join us at Woldumar Nature Center for our annual Native Plant Sale. In addition to a guest presentation, you will be able to shop over 100 varieties of Michigan Native plants from three local vendors.

10:00am-3:00pm - Browse 'n Buy and Order Pickups

Get expert advice and shop a broad selection of native plants including prairie and woodland varieties.​ There will also be sedges, grasses, and shrubs.

Visit additional booths for relevant resources.

11:00am-12:00pm Presentation by The Garden Guru of Kalamazoo

Topic: Designing for Nature - There’s more to supporting pollinators than planting milkweed

This presentation will discuss the importance of creating habitats for pollinators beyond flowers. Including the value of incorporating grasses and sedges, small-scale water features and overwintering habitat into your landscape.

Finishing with recommendations for designing your own native garden.

VOLUNTEER

We need 8 volunteers to assist with the setup and tear down of the Native Plant Sale, help customers with their orders, answer general questions, and help load orders into vehicles. Visit our Sign Up Genius to register to volunteer.

Vendor Highlights

Bendy Stem Farm

Bendy Stem Farm is a small, Michigan native plant nursery located in Dimondale. Ben is eager to help you grow your love for natives in whatever way fits into your life.

Wild Ginger Woodlands

Wild Ginger Woodlands specializes in shade-loving native woodland species and joins us from Haslett.

The Garden Guru of Kalamazoo

The Garden Guru provides consultations, garden makeovers, maintenance plans, and invasive removals, as well as a native plant nursery, located in Kalamazoo.

Please make checks payable to "Eaton Conservation District" or "ECD". Cash and credit cards will be accepted. You can call our office at (517) 543-1512 x5 with questions. 

This event has been rescheduled to Friday, May 30th from 9am-11am due to a power outage at The University of Olivet.

Join us for our spring stream monitoring as we identify the insects collected from Eaton County streams!

Participants will meet in a science classroom in the C.S. Mott Academic Center at The University of Olivet. Teams will work together to sort and count the insect samples to calculate a water quality score for each stream site. All necessary equipment will be provided.

Join us for river cleanup from Mill Pointe Park to Bunker Landing on Saturday, May 10 at 10:30AM. Help make our community a cleaner, greener place by volunteering to pick up litter and beautify the Grand River! Hosted by the City of Eaton Rapids.

Contact ccagle@cityofeatonrapids.gov for more information!

Join us for our spring stream monitoring as we collect insects from Eaton County streams!

Participants will meet in the C.S. Mott Academic Center at The University of Olivet for a training presentation before traveling to a stream site. Teams will work together to collect insect samples that will be used to calculate a water quality score. Waders and other necessary equipment will be provided. Please bring a bottle of water and dress for the weather.

Join us for our spring stream monitoring as we collect insects from Eaton County streams!

Participants will meet in the C.S. Mott Academic Center at The University of Olivet for a training presentation before traveling to a stream site. Teams will work together to collect insect samples that will be used to calculate a water quality score. Waders and other necessary equipment will be provided. Please bring a bottle of water and dress for the weather.

Come join us for a fun morning of planting at the Charlotte Forest Garden! The event will begin with a presentation by District Forester, Ben Savoie, to share tips on the care and maintenance of trees. Participants can put what they've learned into practice by planting a tree or shrub in the forest garden.

To learn more about the Charlotte Forest Garden, contact Val Reisen at val.reisen@macd.org, or call the Eaton Conservation District office at 517-543-1512 x5.

Informal chat time with Morgan Anderson, Produce Safety Technician, to answer any food safety questions as you prep for another great, safe growing season!

All services are FREE and confidential

No RSVP is required

Join us on February 8 from 2-4pm in the basement of the First Congregational Church (106 Bostwick St, Charlotte) to winter sow some seeds from Michigan native wildflowers and grasses. Participants can keep the flowers they grow to plant in their own yards, or they can donate the plants to the Charlotte Forest Garden, a two-acre food forest in development stages in Charlotte. At the beginning of the winter sowing workshop there will be a short presentation on the importance of native plants for pollinators and on the progress of the Charlotte Forest Garden.

For more information on this event or the Charlotte Forest Garden, contact Val Reisen at val.reisen@macd.org or call the Eaton Conservation District office at 517-543-1512 ext 5.

Kanoe the Kazoo is sponsored by the City of Marshall, the City of Charlotte, and the City of Olivet. Float the Kalamazoo River from Stuart’s Landing in Marshall to Ceresco Green. A BBQ lunch (hot dogs/hamburgers) and a short educational program will be offered at the end of the paddle trip at Ceresco Green. There is a $10 registration fee to cover the cost of the t-shirt and lunch.

Arrive: 8:30am at Stuart’s Landing, 900 S. Marshall Ave, Marshall, MI
Check-in: Drop off your kayak(s) and check in at the welcome table. Donuts, coffee, and water will be provided.
Vehicle Shuttle Provided: After dropping off kayak(s), drivers will take their vehicle to Ceresco. A shuttle will be provided to bring drivers back to Stuart’s Landing for the launch.
Launch: Paddlers will launch after drivers are shuttled back to Stuart’s Landing. The expected arrival time in Ceresco is 12pm.
Boat rentals: A small number of kayaks are available for rent from the City of Marshall Recreation Department. To reserve a kayak, call the Recreation Department at 269-781-5166.
T-shirts: Register by August 18 to receive a t-shirt. Indicate the size needed on the registration form linked below.
Event cost: There is a $10 registration fee to cover the cost of the t-shirt and lunch. Please make checks payable to the City of Olivet and mail to C/O Amy Hupenbecker, 117 S Main St, PO Box 367, Olivet, MI 49076.

Follow the opportunity to reduce household clutter and revitalize your property. We are accepting electronics, household hazardous waste, and tires. Register now to participate in our Spring Clean-Up!

Registration will open March 15, 2024 at 12:00 pm and will be available until the Wednesday prior to the date of the event at 12:00 pm or until maximum participant capacity is reached.

Register: http://www.eatoncounty.org/913

Source: https://www.eatoncounty.org/913/Recycling-Events-Programs

Get to know your local Farmers at the Family, Fun & the Farming Community event! There will be games, food, live music, and local vendors. We will be there providing educational displays, games & fun activities surrounding conservation and our Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program!

This event takes place on Saturday June 15th, from 2pm-6pm at the Beach Market. We hope to see you there!

Follow the opportunity to reduce household clutter and revitalize your property. We are accepting electronics, household hazardous waste, and tires. Register now to participate in our Spring Clean-Up!

Registration will open March 15, 2024 at 12:00 pm and will be available until the Wednesday prior to the date of the event at 12:00 pm or until maximum participant capacity is reached.

Register: http://www.eatoncounty.org/913

Source: https://www.eatoncounty.org/913/Recycling-Events-Programs

Join us at Woldumar Nature Center for our annual Native Plant Sale. In addition to a guest presentation, you will be able to shop three (3) local vendors of Michigan native plants.

10:00am-11:00am - Presentation by Cindi Martineau, Professional Michigan Native Plant Grower.

Cindi Martineau is a native plant hobbyist and professional. She has been growing plants from seed since she was a child and native plants for over a decade, adding woodland plants in the last five years. 

Cindi currently works at two native plant nurseries and previously worked at Michigan Wildflower Farm. Her yard is a pollinator and wildlife sanctuary, except for slugs.  She enjoys helping people get started with native plants. 

Cindi will be talking about shade-loving, woodland natives. What are the best woodland natives to bring into your landscape and how can you properly care for them? Bring your questions!

11:00am-3:00pm - Browse 'n Buy

Get expert advice and shop a broad selection of native plants including prairie and woodland varieties.​ New this year… visit additional booths for relevant resources.

Vendor Highlights

Bendy Stem Farm

Bendy Stem Farm is a small, Michigan native plant nursery located in Dimondale. Ben is eager to help you grow your love for natives in whatever way fits into your life.

Wild Ginger Woodlands

Wild Ginger Woodlands specializes in shade-loving native woodland species and joins us from Haslett.

Go Grow Plant Natives

A small nursery located in Charlotte, Go Grow Plant Natives will bring prairie grasses, flowers, and sedges, as well as small shrubs and potted trees.

Plant List

Following is a list of plants that will be available from our vendors:

Sweet flag

Tall Thimbleweed

Red Columbine

Spikenard

Indian plantain

Poke Milkweed

Butterfly Weed

White Wild Indigo

False Blue Indigo

Harebell

Penn Sedge

Sprengelli Sedge

Fireweed

Virgin's Bower

Lanceleaf Tickseed

Prairie Coreopsis

Showy Tick Trefoil

Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle

Purple Coneflower

Rattlesnake Master

Big Leaf Aster

Bottle Gentian

Wild Geranium

Prairie Smoke

Sneezeweed

Western Sunflower

Early Sunflower

Prairie Alumroot

Swamp Rose Mallow

Blue Flag Iris

Round Headed Bush Clover

Dense Blazing Star

Cardinal Flower

Great Blue Lobelia

Wild Lupine

Bee Balm

Horsemint

Stiff Goldenrod

Wild Quinine

Calico Beardtongue

Foxglove Beardtounge

Large Flowered Beardtongue

Hairy Beardtongue

Prairie Phlox

Ninebark

Jacob's Ladder

American Plum

Clustered Mountain Mint

Yellow Coneflower

Wild Golden Glow

Sweet Coneflower

Brown Eyed Susan

Wild Petunia

Hoary Skullcap

Wild Senna

Royal Catchfly

Rosinweed

Compass Plant

Cup Plant

Prairie Dock

Blue Stemmed Goldenrod

Showy Goldenrod

Bog Goldenrod

Meadowsweet

Wood Poppy

Heart-Leaved Aster

Smooth Aster

Sky Blue Aster

Goat's Rue

Purple Meadow Rue

Early Meadow Rue

Culver's Root

Wood Rush

Woodland Phlox

Bloodroot

Wild Ginger

Red Baneberry

Jack-In-The-Pulpit

Beak Grass

American Columbo

Spleenwort

True Solomon’s Seal

Christmas Fern

Zig Zag Goldenrod

And more…

No pre-orders will be taken in 2024. Plants will be available to browse and buy on the day of the sale. You can call our office at (517) 543-1512 x5 with questions. 
Please make checks payable to "Eaton Conservation District" or "ECD". Cash and credit cards will be accepted.

Follow the opportunity to reduce household clutter and revitalize your property. We are accepting electronics, household hazardous waste, yard waste, and scrap metal. Register now to participate in our Spring Clean-Up!

Registration will open March 15, 2024 at 12:00 pm and will be available until the Wednesday prior to the date of the event at 12:00 pm or until maximum participant capacity is reached. 

Register: http://www.eatoncounty.org/913

Become a community scientist as you learn to collect and identify macroinvertebrate larvae to monitor the water quality of Eaton County streams! At bug identification events, volunteers will work as a team using microscopes and guidebooks to identify the insects collected at a specific stream site.  All equipment will be provided.  

Contact Val Reisen at val.reisen@macd.org or (517) 588-6302 for more information.

Click the button below to register to volunteer!