This is the fourth year I have participated in the “Run for the Trees Happy Little 5K” virtual event sponsored by the Bob Ross Inc. Foundation and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. All race proceeds support tree planting and forest protection efforts in Michigan state parks.
Last year several other states joined Michigan in a joint effort to help replenish THEIR trees lost due to wildfires, invasive pests or diseases and now, in 2024, even more states joined in these worthwhile reforestation efforts.
Michigan’s forest protection and reforestation efforts are to replace trees lost due to invasive pests like the Emerald Ash Borer and the fungal disease Oak Wilt.
Local native seeds are collected as they have the best chance of thriving in this area. Then Michigan Department of Corrections inmates raise these native saplings that are later planted by volunteers. According to our DNR’s website, visitors to state parks where trees have been planted will see bright green “Happy Little Trees Ahead” signs to note the program’s important contributions.
The “Happy Little Trees 5K event” launched in 2020 was named for the legendary nature enthusiast and painter Bob Ross who wowed us with his paintings of peaceful nature settings. However, the use of inmates to cultivate tree seedlings for planting by volunteers is now in its 20th year and has produced more than 100,000 native plants, shrubs and trees since its inception, with 2,100 trees planted in 20 state parks across Michigan since partnering with the Bob Ross Inc. Foundation. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources vows to plant 50 million trees by 2030!
Planting trees – now this quote is all about positivity:
This event is well-run and I received my race swag a month ago …
There are really no rules except participants choose a venue to run, walk, bike, skate or paddle the equivalent of 3.2 miles/5 kilometers sometime between April 22, 2024 (Earth Day) and April 26, 2024 (Arbor Day).
So, I am cheating just a little and I did my 5K a day earlier.
Even though I’m sure the weather will cooperate tomorrow, Mother Nature is NOT the reason for my tripping along the perimeter path a day earlier.
In the past I’ve chosen woodsy venues to walk my 5K. This year I picked Council Point Park, not just because it is my favorite nature nook this past eleven years since discovering it on April 26, 2013, nor is it because it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
This Park was my pick due to the changes that are afoot at this venue.
More about that later.
Some of my best childhood memories were spent out in nature.
Every visit to Council Point Park takes me back to my childhood, running free with my little friends in an area of undeveloped property at the end of the street where I lived from age two to ten. This piece of land also had a creek running through it and all the neighborhood kids played there, whether flying kites, lying on our back looking at the clouds, collecting buttercups in our chubby fists for Mom, or scooping up tadpoles with Red Rose sweet pickle jars. It was where I spent countless hours of free time and developed an affinity for nature at an early age.
By the time we were ready to move to the States, urban sprawl took over and this place of joy was cleared to build Hopedale Mall.
So, I called it serendipity that I discovered this venue the same year I began my blog. While I love walking in larger parks, there is a certain delight in being in a familiar place, a feeling of belonging to “my” park. I know each turn in the perimeter path, where to watch for black ice when there’s a chill in the air from mist rising from the Creek making the path parallel to the water slick. I know which trees will leaf out first and which will likewise drop their leaves in early September. I watch squirrels fatten up, courtesy of Mother Nature, as the temps grow colder and I welcome the trill of the Red-winged Blackbirds signaling Spring when these beautiful birds return to the marshy area of the Creek.
And then there is the day-to-day charm of this Park as seen in these photos.
Of course there are the squirrels with their antics, scrambling down a tree and scurrying over for peanuts.
Part of this small Park’s ambiance has waned over the years.
Sadly I’ve watched tree cutters come here and fell beautiful trees, which left me shaking my head. The perfect harbinger of Spring each year was a gorgeous Redbud tree that erupted into vivid shades of pink, perfect for capturing images of the goslings as they huddled together beneath it. But one day I went to the Park and the tree was gone – only the stump remained and does to this day. It wasn’t diseased, nor was the huge Juniper, home to Golden-crowned Kinglets that flitted in and out of it all Winter.
One does not have to be a tree hugger to wonder why?
Now my biggest bugaboo is worrying about the fate of my favorite park.
A huge amphibious bulldozer has been parked in the parking lot at Council Point Park for three weeks. Yes, it is brand-new as you can see from this picture.
And, this powerful piece of machinery will make its inaugural dredge right here at this park, then follow the Ecorse Creek through other parks clearing the Creek of debris, like fallen logs, but removing long-dead trees hanging off the shoreline and bowing down to the water.
But wait, there is more.
They are widening the Creek by 15 feet.
See the orange lines/surveyor’s ribbons in these photos below? This will be the new shoreline and this machine will chomp up brush and trees to do this project. This morning I saw two smaller earth-moving machines were alongside this behemoth pictured above. Take a closer look at the orange lines in these photographs, because this will be where the shoreline soon will be. Look at the trees that stand between the Creek and the orange line.
This project will mess with Brian Skinner’s memorial tree’s roots. His family assembles around the tree a few times a year on his birth/death dates and they put seasonal decorations on it.
And this operation will mess mightily with Rex, the Red-bellied Woodpecker’s favorite tree, albeit a tree so holy and decimated for many years now that you have to wonder how he still ekes out grubs from it.
There won’t be much space between the Creek bank and the walking path, so the mist from the water, with no brush and saplings to act as a buffer, will cause black ice and slick conditions.
So is this a good thing?
The Creek will flow smoothly, rid of its debris, but what about those that critters that rely on those fallen logs for protection from predators?
Or the row of turtles that like to sunbathe there, stretched out in a neat queue on those fallen logs on hot Summer days?
Squirrels’ nests are in the trees that fall within these orange lines and orange surveyor’s ribbons. Kits (baby squirrels) are born in mid-March to April and with eyes shut, are helpless, up in the nest and are not weaned and able to leave the nest for six weeks.
Also worrisome is the fact that geese nest along the shoreline and, although I never see their nests as they hug the shoreline, then suddenly a family of goslings emerges, so what happens to them? I spotted the first family on Monday, April 8th, much earlier than usual, but at least that family is safe as they can paddle away from this huge machine. Will they remove the nesting geese?
So, I am worried about the fate of this park, but then who am I, but a walker whose feet have tread millions of steps, fed an infinite number of feathered and furry friends and captured their images with my camera to share with you.
The below info gave me cause to pause as well ….
It’s difficult to believe that my burning issue a few months back happened after a morning chat with Jacob, the Park’s resident catch-and-release fisherman. I will admit to being gobsmacked after Jacob asked me if I ever peer into the Creek and see the Goldfish. When I said “no” he told me to look closely as they are huge. He told me they are as invasive as Asian Carp and are in fact a type of Carp and he caught 32 large Goldfish in 2023. He alerted the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and sent them photos of some of these Goldfish, but did NOT throw back into the water. The DNR said they are to be disposed of; some people shoot them as they are not edible. Jacob said the DNR is going to come to Council Point Park and “shock” the water to destroy them at one time.
Hmm. So, the rest of my walk that morning, I wondered what happens to the other fish, the heron’s daily fish breakfast and the turtles … wait a minute … do they clear the waterfowl out first before shocking the water? Yikes!
I admit that I do “overthink” things sometimes.
Okay, the term “tree hugger” can have negative connotations … so call me a tree hugger if you must, but I despise the idea of what this will do to the flora and fauna in this Park, especially during nesting season. Yes, the authorities claim it is better for the health of the Creek to widen it and clear out the debris. I hope they are right.
I understood the work was to begin on April 8th, but as of this writing, it has not begun, but we have had a slew of very rainy days as well as volatile weather, so perhaps that has kept the project from starting timely. But, in the event the project begins tomorrow, (which I suspect it will due to the arrival of these new machines), I got my walk in today and have been taking pictures this past week as Spring has unfurled and the landscape has gone from blah to beautiful.
Google tells me “Earth Day has evolved into the largest civic event on Earth, activating billions across 192 countries to safeguard our planet and fight for a brighter future.”
I remember the inaugural Earth Day in 1970. We received a pine seedling from the grocery store. Mom found a small planter and potting soil then nurtured that seedling until it was established enough to be planted outside the following Spring. I think that wisp of a tree looked mighty inviting to the bunnies or squirrels because I never saw it again. Weeding was one of my chores back in the day, so perhaps I grabbed it thinking it was a weed.
I hope we humans can strive to create a better environment for all of us for our future. I sure hope the incidents cited above are good intentions, though neither of them look too rosy to me.
I am posting my Earth Day post and stats (5 1/4 miles/8.44 km) today as who knows what the Park will look like tomorrow, or the days to come, or even if we will be allowed to walk the perimeter path.
I am joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills Challenge: Earth Day.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Linda, I’m glad you’re calling attention to this. Just today we were shaking our heads at civic decision-making. What sort of thinking is leading to this sort of habitat destruction in this day and age?! You’ve pointed out many of the negatives already, so I won’t belabor them. If you don’t think this is right, I hope you might be able to speak up or join a group that is concerned.
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Eilene, the city managers/government where the Ecorse Creek flows through ONLY invited comments as to homeowners’ property that might be impacted. This park is bordered by two cities, one on either side of the Creek, so some homeowners who live in the neighborhood worried about flooding or the shoreline being too close to their property line, but the powers that be said “it will rid the Creek of debris” (debris and dead trees that have been there for all of the 11 years I have walked at this venue). I am sad for what damage it will cause to the habitat and you have to shake your head over those folks who think that one day a year, for Earth Day, they “think green” and they are concerned for nature and the rest of the year, they have no interest.
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It’s very sad and short-sighted. Will we EVER learn?
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I agree Eilene and no, we will never learn because most people prefer to live in the moment and not think at all about long-term consequences, no matter the subject.
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I imagine the birds and even the furry creatures will get out of the way of that loud equipment, but what about those turtles? And the other fish. I thought that carp and the big gold fish were edible, anyway. People, messing up nature from day one.
Wonderful Robin! I don’t think I’ve seen one yet this year but I’m not getting out and about much this year so far.
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I think they will get out of the way too Zazzy, but their habitats will be destroyed and what if they have offspring too young to bolt? Some large squirrels’ nests have been up in those trees for years … I notice them as I see the squirrels running up and down the trees. Bad enough to do this at all, but during nesting season is horrible. There are a lot of turtles at the Creek, but I can’t photograph them easily as there is brush or saplings along the shoreline, so I just catch glimpses between the bushes. So, …
I hope I can say one year from now they were correct and the geese and ducks didn’t hightail it to another park for good, or lose eggs/offspring, or the squirrels and song birds head for the ‘hood. I suspect they will close the Park too due to the heavy machinery. Our Robins don’t seem to migrate anymore … maybe some of them go South, but we had Robins all Winter. We’ve had so much rain lately, the Robins are getting a good haul of worms. 🙂
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I do imagine the critters will come back. I’ve been through Yellowstone many times since the big fire and it’s amazing how life has returned to the degree that much of the area you’d never know had burned. Nature is pretty magical, you know.
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Well, I am glad you said that Zazzy – it puts my mind at ease a little. Yes, nature is pretty magical – you are correct and I keep forgetting animals are resilient, more so than people. They did not begin this morning, so I walked there and then went on to some other parks as we had a beautiful day, but very windy (again). I drove by on the way home and they still hadn’t begun and the equipment was in the same place. It could be because we have an all-day rain/storms tomorrow, so they are waiting.
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Keep us posted. Things sound a bit bad for the creek and the critters who live there.
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I will Anne – I am upset about what is going to happen. I hope a year from now, for Earth Day 2025, I can tell you it was a success. It does not look like it will bode well for the critters who live there, nor their young.
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Pingback: Sunday Stills: Continuously Moved by the #Earth – Second Wind Leisure Perspectives
First, kudos for participating in the 5K Bob Ross event. I saw that the state of WA is included in this, but I’ve never heard of it. Glad you can do your part and were aware of Earth Day in 1970. I was 10, so probably had no clue. I don’t know what to say about the creek being widened, which will “help” with debris. It’s sad to think many critters may lose their habitats or lives, but it sounds like there are a lot of issues. Maybe it’s a good thing the bulldozer has been sitting for a few weeks. And people wonder why coyotes are attacking their small dogs, or bears are stealing from their trash cans. We keep wiping out wildlife’s habitats. Sad to see.
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Thank you Terri … it is a good cause and I like how they use native seeds to ensure the trees will “take” better. A lot of thought goes into this campaign, so no wonder it is so successful. Last year a fellow blogger saw they were doing the event in his state and has registered for the 2024 event. If you are interested in participating in 2025, let me know and I’ll forward the registration info to you. Registration is in November for the following year. They made a big deal in school about Earth Day that first year as well. I am both mad and sad about this project and wonder if anyone went to the Park and analyzed the situation fully or just had ideas on paper. The other parks that the Ecorse Creeks flows through are just grass and playground equipment. This wildlife habitat is a gem in the middle of a residential area. They did not begin this morning, so I walked there and saw a Black-crowned night heron, a bird we don’t often see at this venue. I reached for my camera and the movement made it fly away – too bad about that. We have a coyote problem right now throughout much of Michigan and a few weeks ago a coyote got into the farmyard at Greenfield Village (a big tourist attraction) and killed one of the sheep. You’re right – we take away their habitats and then protest that wild animals trespass in “our space” – SMH.
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🥲
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Linda, this is a very interesting and thought-provoking post. Wishing the best for your favored park and all the little critters who live there.
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Thank you Rebecca. I am both mad and sad for my park and its critters. I feel like the people in charge of this project never went to the park and looked around at what will happen – surely, they would realize the harm they could do. The Ecorse Creek flows through other parks, but they are only parks with grass and playground equipment – there is no comparison at all. I hope I can report that everything returns to normal and the critters and their offspring were spared.
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I hope so too, Linda.
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Very nice you sharing RUN TREE & Support tree planting and forest protection. I like
Nice you sharing your best childhood memories were spent out in nature. Iam so glad your interest for save forest trees.
Thanks, Linda!
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I am glad you enjoyed the post Raj. It is important to rally for what we want to protect, so this is one small way to “count” and I enjoy doing this event. Earth Day is big in the U.S., but sadly people only recognize the need for protecting our planet one day a year. Is Earth Day big in your country?
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Most welcome,Linda! Yes, what we want to protect, so this is one small way.
Yes, Here’s big Earth Day in my country. Tree plantation & forest protection .
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That’s good Raj – Mother Earth needs all the help she can get!
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yes, you are right say me. I agree with you, Linda 😂
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Just caught up on a few of your posts Linda, I was thinking I hope Linda is OK I have not seen a posts for a while! – WP had gone wonky and unsubscribed you. – back following and enjoying your posts
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Thank you for resubscribing to my blog Andy. WP is very wonky these days. I cannot preview my post after I put it together anymore, so I have to hope for the best, but my biggest complaint is that when I reply to comments, they don’t “take” on WP and I get a message that I am unable to reply. When I try again, as the comment didn’t go through, the message reads “duplicate comment – you already said that!” It is very annoying!!
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There’s so little regard for nature by decision-makers. Surely there must be a better way of dealing with problems than destroying yet more natural habitat? I was also sad to hear that your childhood happy place was turned into a shopping mall – too often those in power ‘paved paradise, put up a parking lot’. I hope the human species starts caring more about nature (after all we are part of it!) If we had more tree huggers the world would be in a better shape.
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I am both mad and sad about this turn of events at my favorite park Clare, especially since the other parks that are along the Ecorse Creek’s path, are parks that only have grass and playground equipment. It makes no sense to me and I hope the “people in charge” actually went and looked at Council Point Park in person, not just drew up a diagram.
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Such a tragedy, the mysterious fate of the redbud tree. You have so much to worry about what is happening to your beloved park. It seems to me that so many things we humans do that we think of as helping mother nature turn out to do more harm than good. It’s so hard to figure out what the best course of action is. I remember in the 1970s (I think?) when they started asking us at the grocery store, did we want paper or plastic bags? I used to say plastic, thinking I was making a wise choice and saving the trees. But it turns out plastic pollution was the bigger problem. The more we learn the more complicated it gets! At least we can plant more trees but we can’t get rid of plastic. Congratulations on being a tree hugger and walking for such a worthy cause! I hope what happens to your park won’t cause too much devastation – keeping my fingers crossed.
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Yes, it is a tragedy as to that Redbud tree – it was gorgeous Barbara and lit up what people refer to as “The Point” (at the other end of the Park where there is a clear path to the water). The goslings were always there as they could just walk right into the Creek there, not having to go down the steep slope until they were a bit older. It was near the Twisted Tree. Now, if the cut down that old, twisted-up, bent-over and shapeless tree with the carvings in it, I could understand that. But, they took this beautiful, mature Redbud tree. They did not start the project today which amazed me, given the new machinery there parked next to the amphibious bulldozer. I walked there, then walked at three other parks and drove by there before I went home and they still had not started. Thank you – I worry for the devastation and the fate of the critters as well.
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I’m a tree person. I’ve lived here 3 years and planted 6 new trees, some for privacy and some because they are beautiful. I never understand people cutting down trees that aren’t diseased or in the way.
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I agree with you Kate – now that the two trees were moved from my backyard after they were hacked up by DTE following the downed wire fire, I had to have them cut down and now I cannot believe how sunny it is in the backyard now. We lost two Oak trees in the backyard and a Locust tree out front in the 90s from Carpenter ants and lost a Birch tree in the 70s due to Birch Borer Disease.
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Why exactly are they widening the creek? You would think they would take into account the negatives towards doing that. And, how did the Asian Carp get there?
We had to cut down some trees on our property, due to disease/danger and it was the saddest day. I don’t think I am still over it.
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They say it will make the Creek healthy without the debris in it – it will still have garbage in it though Susan and that is worse to me. A month ago, someone threw a large picnic table and garbage can into the Creek and the Parks and Recreation guys fished it out. The volunteers come in kayaks and canoes three times per Summer to clear debris. I see the habitat being destroyed to make the Creek wider and this is one of several parks along the Ecorse Creek, but the others are just grass and playground equipment. There were trees cut down at this house too, three due to Carpenter ants and one due to Birch Borer. The others I cut down after the downed wire fire and DTE cut them and they looked like slingshots so they would not bother the wires. It was not my trees that made the wires fall that night or the recent three-fire night either.
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I totally understand clearing the debris from the creek. I get nervous about things like widening creeks for no apparent reason; I feel like nature knows what it’s doing.
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Linda, I feel like there is no purpose for this project … this park is the only one that is woodsy and large and an animal/bird habitat. The other parks along the Ecorse Creek are just grass and playground equipment. I hope everything turns out well here for the havoc they are wreaking.
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Hi Linda. I’m very sorry and sad that this is happening to your favorite park.
I’m glad that you’re participating in the virtual earth day walk and decided to go on a day that best benefits you.
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Thank you TD – I am hoping things turn out for the best at my favorite park, but I’m not all that confident about it. It is a worthwhile event to participate in. I will also be in a virtual 5K for suicide prevention for military personnel due to PTSD and a walk to raise money for a food pantry.
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I hope that you enjoy the exercise of the walking and stories that you like to tell as you capture and sort through your photographs!
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Thank you TD – I just spent this morning sorting through photographs taken yesterday on a multiple Park excursion. I hope I never run out of tales to tell and photos to document those stories.
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Congrats on completing the 5k. It’s sad to read that your beloved Council Point Park is going through major changes. I enjoyed reading about your childhood adventures. And seeing the critters who greet you there. Posing squirrels are so darn cute. Your photos will remain historic as they make the changes to the park. Asian Carp…where did they come from? Interesting. Major changes to the flora like that take years to see the positive effects. You’ll be there capturing the history of it to look back and see if it was a good idea or not, no doubt. I look forward to the updates as you see them happening. 🤗
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Thank you Shelley! It looks like I could have waited and walked on Earth Day since they didn’t begin the project Monday and today it rained. I’ll see where they are tomorrow – I dread going around that corner if the bulldozer is moved. I can see it thru the trees. I was going to mention in this post, but left it out at the last minute, that when the Park closed for one month at the beginning of COVID, when the Park opened again, the goslings had become geese, the birds had gone elsewhere to feed and no longer swooped down to meet me and the Park had a different look for weeks as the lawncutters had not been allowed in either – it looked like a field until they caught up with cutting all the Parks in the City (we have 22 parks, most of them just playground equipment). The grass was as tall as the geese. I hope my progress reports are good ones.
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It’s interesting to read about how the parks took a downward turn during COVID. Glad they are back now and hopefully what they’re doing at Council Park will be a good thing in the long run.
I hope you see some geese and their goslings this year. I’m sure your progress reports will be delightful to read.
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[I fished you out of SPAM – go figure.] The geese had a field day with no people to get in their way for an entire month, so they pooped all over the pavilion … silly geese. Today our weather looked like a snow sky. I decided not to take the camera as it likely would rain and I walked to the Park. Halfway there it started to rain. It was so windy, I could see the black clouds moving away from the Park, so I kept on walking. It never did rain again, but we had blustery weather. They have not started the project yet and now they have added a new earth-moving machine to the mix. This one is large and orange so four machines now, all ready to rip up the Park. I did see goslings today, the ones I saw on the 8th and they were big, but 2 1/2 weeks later, their cherub faces are gone, replaced by mean faces and little hisses. 🙂 And … I saw two male Wood Ducks in the Creek. A walker who sees me with the camera at the Park told me last week he saw two Wood Ducks and I was surprised. Well, there they were, two males on top of it. Even if I had the camera, the brush along the shoreline kept me from seeing them clearly. Hope the big machines don’t scare them away. That is a first seeing them at this Park.
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Thank you for rescuing me from the SPAM folder. Oy…it was scary there!
I love your description of the goslings, ‘their cherub faces are gone, replaced by mean faces and little hisses’ that’s so true.
I hope the critters are resilient to the noises and the commotion and that the workers do their best to minimize the trauma to the wildlife.
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They still have not started Shelley – I looked on my way home today. That is good … for now. I’ve not seen any more gosling families, but they have to be out there by the shoreline. Yes, that’s exactly what the goslings do/look like and then when they are “teenagers” they are all feet and canoe-shaped bodies. 🙂 I hope they are resilient too – I worry about them, even thinking they might run out of the Park into traffic when the machines start up or near them. It is a busy street that runs parallel to the Park. I doubt many of the squirrels ever leave this side of the Park and on the other side, it is boring, very few trees, no squirrels, just the playground and a very old inline skating rink.
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Hopefully the delay in starting is because they’re considering how to minimize the impact on wildlife. Thank you for adding the lookout of activity to your to-do list and for keeping us updated.
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I hope that is why too Shelley – we have three days of rain, so I doubt they’ll start tomorrow (if they work Saturday) and Monday is rainy too. Maybe rain doesn’t matter to them? They added another bulldozer to the mix. You are welcome – I hope this is as quick and painless as possible.
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It’ll be interesting to see if they work when it rains or not. Sounds like they’re gearing up for a big move soon.
Me too!
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Congratulations on your 5KLinda. Another successful race in the books.
I read a book one time about multiple projects humans attempted, trying to improve on nature. All of them were spectacularly unsuccessful. I hope the changes to “your” park are not too destructive.
Happy Earth Day!
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Thanks Laurie! The next one up is to raise funds for Fish & Loaves (food pantry), then Run to Honor (veterans’ suicide from PTSD).
I have to agree with that book, because it seems everyone wants their hands in this Park “pie” but I wonder why they didn’t do some due diligence on what will happen to the habitat as we know it with this project? I hope to have good results to tell you at the end of this ordeal.
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Good job doing the 5K again! You are all that and a bag of [wood?] chips. I wonder how long it’ll take before you see the results of the changes in the park. I like the idealism of improving, but find I can be a little skeptical about the need to do so.
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Thanks Ally! And I love that little twist to the bag of chips phrase too. I hope there are improvements in the end for all the havoc they will wreak here with that huge bulldozer and taking all the extra land from each Creek’s shoreline. I am very skeptical as well.
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Why in the world didn’t they widen it at the end of fall, not now when there are nests and animals everywhere? I’m sure they have a good reason but it still makes me angry. Anyhow, I have never seen a flax flower that I remember. They are very pretty. Kudos to you for another year of support for the parks. Parker is looking so healthy, must be all those peanuts! 🥜
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I am angry too Diane. As of this morning, they still haven’t started and were supposed to start April 8th. They have added another big bulldozer, but not the amphibious type like this one, to the other earth-moving machinery in the parking lot. I am relieved by the longer they put it off and I’m like you wondering why they would do it in nesting season? They could have waited until Fall or even until June when the geese take their goslings down to the Detroit River as they molt and can’t fly anywhere for a couple of months and the squirrels’ offspring are on their own and out of the nest. Nope, they are enlarging the Creek and are going to take away all those trees, bushes. I hope it goes well for the animals/birds and I wonder what it will do to the trails, especially in Winter as it will be icier than usual being so close to the shoreline.
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