We are working with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (SSIHM) to preserve and restore a 35-acre oak savanna woodlot located on their 260-acre campus in the heart of the City of Monroe, Michigan. This unique woodlot ecosystem is overgrown with invasive plant species including buckthorn, multi-flora rose, and autumn olive. In pre-settlement days, fires caused by lightening would have naturally prevented these invasive species from taking over the woodlot.

Removal of the invasives is one step towards restoration that will allow the native flora and fauna adequate resources to thrive. In 2005, we collaborated with Americorps National Civilian Community Corps to remove over 6500 pounds of invasive plants, trees and shrubs from the woodlot on the IHM campus. Rather than disposing of the brush in a landfill, we recycled it into wood chips. The Americorps workers cleared and constructed a .3 mile walking trail in the woodlot using wood chips for the base.

Our next steps include formulating and implementing a long range management plan for the woodlot. Possible options may include restoring the site as a mixed oak savanna, wet prairie, and maple beech forest ecosystem. We believe another essential element is educational programming that will help build a more caring relationship with the land and each other, and foster an understanding of our interconnectedness with the land and people beyond our own community.

More information on:
Oak savanna
Land Trust
Land Conservancy