SVSU awarded $40,000 grant to create native plant preserve

By this time next year, Saginaw Valley State University will have an outdoor laboratory for biology students and a place where people can learn about plants native to the Great Lakes Bay region.

The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network recently awarded SVSU a $40,000 grant toward the creation of the Saginaw Bay Watershed Native Planting Preserve. When completed, the 10- to 12-acre preserve will feature plants native to the Great Lakes Bay region, along with nature paths, and plant identification signs. The preserve will be located to the north of SVSU's new health and human services building.

People will be able to enjoy the preserve by next summer, but it will take a couple of years to complete the project, says Steve Hocquard, assistant vice president for campus facilities.

The native plant preserve caught the attention of the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network for several reasons, says Michael Kelly, director of the Great Lakes Office of The Conservation Fund, which oversees the watershed network.

"Today, most landscaping plants are brought in from other areas of our country or even from overseas. Too often, these plants require constant care to keep them healthy, which means extra fertilizers and water. They are generally not resistant to many of our pests, so that requires insecticides," Kelly says. "Native plants are generally a more sustainable and they are far more friendly, from a number of perspectives.

"We are glad to see that SVSU is thinking about how they treat their properties in new and unique ways," Kelly says.

In addition to serving as a research site and outdoor laboratory for SVSU biology students, the preserve also will help educate the general public and area greenhouses about the importance of using native plants in their landscaping projects, Hocquard says.

The preserve will include more than 100 species of native flowers, plants, trees, and shrubs, including red oak, shagbark hickory, silver maple, irises, purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, and cardinal flowers, he says.

Writer: Jenny Cromie
Source: Saginaw Valley State University, Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network