VOLUNTEER WORK AT CHIPPEWA NATURE CENTER

Our team at Rivers are Life partnered with BeAlive for a morning of hard work at Chippewa Nature Center (CNC), one of the largest private non-profit nature centers in the United States with over 1,500 acres of land along the Chippewa River and its watershed. 

While CNC has about 40 staff members, it leans on the support of hundreds of volunteers every year. We were proud to be among those volunteers in the fall of 2023, as they prepared for the winter months. We worked together to stack firewood for the annual Maple Syrup Day and to pour concrete for a new ADA accessible path. Together our team was made up of 11 volunteers who spent 3 hours volunteering on these two projects.

ABOUT CNC'S MAPLE SYRUP DAY

CNC celebrates the ‘syruping season’ at the annual Maple Syrup Day festival with activities for all ages! With a focus on education, CNC teaches visitors about the history of maple syrup and shows them how to make their own. From the tree tapping to the sugarbush and then into the kitchen, guests have the opportunity to experience the whole maple syrup making process. 

One key detail to prepare for this event throughout the year is collecting firewood so it's dry when the big day arrives. That is why the Rivers are Life team spent their volunteer hours stacking firewood for the event. 

ABOUT CNC'S ACCESSIBILITY INITIATIVE

With a goal of making the outdoors more accessible for everyone, CNC has provided a few accessible paths throughout the nature center. 

• Two accessible trails are located directly off the main, paved parking lot. All trails are open dawn-to-dark daily.
• The Chippewa Trail is a 3.5 mile paved trail between CNC and the Tridge in Downtown Midland, traversing through a variety of ecosystems. Snow is not cleared from this trail in winter.
• The Arbury Trail is a 0.4 mile paved trail adjacent to the Visitor Center. Along this trail is Arbury Pond, a river overlook, meadow and forest. Snow is cleared from this trail in winter.
• There are also hard-packed, smooth gravel trails at the Homestead Farm, Schoolhouse and Sugarhouse.

We are proud to have poured our sweat equity into the hard-packed smooth gravel travel by the Sugarhouse, which allows more people to enjoy the Maple Syrup Day festivities.