Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/category/news/parks-and-recreation/page/3/)
Once a month, Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan, dedicates a night to a special free event: the FALCONERS event. Since 2016, this program has catered towards families with special needs children, and adults, along with their families and support systems.
The Meridian Township Farmers’ Market welcomes entrepreneurs of all ages to market their businesses and provide the community with local goods.
Play Michigan, an all-inclusive playground, opened its gates on Friday, Sept. 15th and has a number of accessible features for children with disabilities to utilize.
HAUNTED: Visitors to an Upper Peninsula lighthouse say they can still smell the cigar smoke of a keeper who died a century ago, and a paranormal researcher has found other evidence that the structure is haunted. We interview Kat Tedsen, an author who has researched more than 300 haunted sites in Michigan.
WETLANDS: The state and local governments are using a $13 million boost to restore damaged wetlands, including projects on former farmland. We hear from DNR, an MSU ecologist and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. By Kelsey Lester. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, PLANET DETROIT, MONROE, MIDLAND, ALBION, BLISSFIELD AND ALL POINTS.
FALL COLORS: Pure Michigan has rolled out the webcams to livestream scenic fall spots around the state and boost tourism. A Detroit poet was commissioned to write “Keep Falling for Michigan.” Mackinac Island is gearing up for its annual Halloween weekend. By Kenzie Terpstra. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, WKTV, DETROIT, ST. IGNACE, CHEBOYGAN AND ALL POINTS.
DARK SKY: Dark sky parks are drawing more public attention in Michigan as venues for stargazing unaffected by artificial light. There are currently three international designated ones near Emmet, Keweenaw and Cass counties. The DNR has also designated parts of six state parks in Emmet, Presque Isle, Lenawee, Huron and Alcona counties as dark sky preserves. We talk to a dark skies advocate from Ann Arbor, a Keweenaw park activities leader and the park manager of Headlands in Mackinaw City. By Kelsey Lester. FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, MARQUETTE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, PETOSKEY, CHEBOYGAN, ADRIAN, BLISSFIELD, ALPENA, ALCONA AND ALL POINTS.
EAGLES SOAR: Michigan’s bald eagle population is rebounding, reflecting a stunning success story for the national bird, which was nearly wiped off the map by the 1960s. Once confined to a few locations in the Northern Lower Peninsula and UP, they’re now present in nearly every corner of the state, including more urbanized areas like DTE’s Monroe Power Plant., while parts of the Detroit River have become eagle-watching hotspots. Lingering threats from lead bullets and habitat fragmentation remain barriers to full recovery. By Ashley Zhou. FOR MONROE, ADRIAN, BLISSFIELD, PLANET DETROIT, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.
EARTHWORMS: The lowly earthworm has lots to do with the health of Northern Michigan’s hardwood forests. “Exotic” – non-native – earthworms can have widespread and complex effects on individual trees and overall forest health, including causing dieback of sugar maples, say researchers from Michigan Technological University and their partners. All the earthworms that the researchers found in the Upper Peninsula, including tin he Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests, as well as northern Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota are unwelcome invaders. By Eric Freedman FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, ST IGNACE, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS AND ALL POINTS.
E. COLI: As many as half the state’s rivers and streams have elevated levels of E. coli, threatening the health of those who swim there or eat fish caught there. This summer’s closures included beaches in Traverse City and Chippewa, Oakland, Macomb, Aranac, Roscommon and Cheboygan counties. We talk to a Roscommon Township supervisor, a Central Michigan health official and the Michigan Environmental Council. By Kelsey Lester. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, CHEBOYGAN, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE MARIE AND ALL POINTS.