Education

Stickwork Sculpture Sparks Interest at City Park

In September, MNA participated in the Opening Celebration of an exciting new stickwork sculpture at the City of Detroit’s Eliza Howell Park. Sidewalk Detroit, a Detroit arts nonprofit and member of the Eliza Howell Park Partnership (EHPP) that includes MNA, commissioned nationally-known artist Patrick Dougherty to create an engaging and interactive sculpture. Made entirely of natural materials, it puts a nature spotlight on a beautiful 250-acre urban park along the Rouge River.

Over a period of three weeks, volunteer neighbors, artists, and the general public worked alongside the environmental artist to harvest overgrowth from several parks in and around Detroit, then helped with the installation. The stickwork is expected to last up to two years as it naturally decays, a terrific way to connect visitors to ecology and natural cycles through art in a park setting.

Photo by Zach Pacana

Check out this wonderful sculpture at Eliza Howell Park- and kudos to our partners at Sidewalk Detroit for commissioning this inspiring naturework and promoting EHPP’s mission of connecting visitors to the park’s natural wonders in such a unique way!

Volunteers Make Swift Work With Audubon

Volunteers Jim Rossman and Paul Rice are highly valued by MNA staff for their willingness to tackle projects requiring a higher-than-normal set of building, carpentry, and construction skills. So when we decided to erect a chimney swift tower on the grounds of our office building in partnership with Michigan Audubon, they responded with an enthusiastic “yes”!

The tower - and others like them - are a part of Michigan Audubon’s efforts to increase awareness for chimney swifts and to slow a steep population decline in recent decades. A bird that favors urban areas, the swifts nest and roost in traditional brick chimneys with open caps. They feed by catching flying insects but cannot perch upright, only on a vertical surface that allows some perches on a rough surface.

Using plans from the Chimney Swift Conservation Association, but adding their own modifications, the tower took shape in Jim’s workshop over the winter of 2019-2020. The COVID pandemic prevented installation until this fall.

“We hope to provide chimney swift habitat,” says Julie Stoneman, MNA’s Director of Outreach and Educations, “but the tower itself is a wonderful educational tool that compliments our native bird, bee, and pollinator landscaping. It’s great to work in partnership with Michigan Audubon and we cannot thank Jim and Paul enough for the hours dedicated to constructing and installing the tower.”

“Michigan Audubon is excited to partner again with our neighbors in Okemos, Michigan Nature Association, to enhance our office grounds with valuable education and conservation tools that attract more birds and other valuable pollinators” said Michigan Audubon Executive Director Heather Good. “The addition of a chimney swift tower is ... a great outreach and education tool that will convey more ways we can conserve birds in urban places.”