February 2024 E-Newsletter

Instilling a love of nature begins at a young age. 

There are many ways to instill a love of nature with children. A fun and easy way to help children learn to love nature is teaching them about engaging their senses while on a hike.

What do you see?

Ask them to close their eyes and listen, “What do you hear?”

Have them touch a tree and ask, “What do you feel?”

Take a deep breath, “What do you smell?”

Last year hundreds of children visited our parks and attended nature programs. They enjoyed the Age of Discovery playground at Hager Park, enjoyed a Storywalk in an Ottawa County Park, walked through the tunnel at Tunnel Park to reveal that magnificent view of Lake Michigan, or attended an Ottawa County Parks and Recreation nature program with their family or school.

There are many great Ottawa County Parks and Recreation programs for children to learn more about nature, you can learn more and sign up for programs. Please note that starting February 16 at 4:00 pm, Ottawa County Parks will be temporarily suspending reservation and program registration requests for two weeks. They anticipate being live with their new more user-friendly recreation software by February 29th.

By allowing children to identify and connect with their surroundings, we are helping them develop their own appreciation and love for nature.

by Bobbi Sabine

The grand, stately white pine (Pinus strobus) was fittingly chosen as the official State Tree of Michigan back on March 4, 1955. It all started with a group of Saginaw schoolchildren who wrote to their local State Representative suggesting it would be an apt tribute to Michigan history. Since then, the white pine has stood tall throughout the state, reminding us of the lumbering days in the late 19th century, when loggers swept across the state in search of mature stands to harvest. Though devastating to Michigan’s native forests, the lumber era was critically important to Michigan’s economy and population growth.

Recorded in nearly every county in the state, the white pine is found in mixed forests with hemlocks and northern hardwoods, but also on sandy plains, in dunes, in bogs, in swamps, on rock, and in cedar swamps. It is easily discerned by the bundles of five needles mirroring the five letters in the name – W H I T E. The cones can be 4 to 7 inches long and are often covered in resin.

There is still a mature stand of massive old-growth white pines at Hartwick Pines, some of which have reached 165 feet tall. They have been known to live as long as 450 years. Branches at the tops of older trees are often bent away from the direction of prevailing wind, which helps in recognizing the species at a distance.

Native Americans ate the inner bark as a food source when other food was scarce. The Iroquois used the resin mixed with beeswax to seal canoes. Ojibwa and Chippewa revered the tree and boiled the needles, pollen, and bark into a tea.

Pines have a number of edible parts. The young male cones can be boiled and eaten. Roasted pine seeds are used to make pesto and hummus.

Photo credit: Michigan Flora Online, A.A. Reznicek