In the Wild

After the most recent rain, the cottonwoods of East Lansing have begun releasing their cottony seeds. The eastern cottonwood, Populus deltoides, is a huge hardwood tree native to the eastern U.S. and common in damp areas and the banks of rivers and streams of Michigan. A young tree can grow more than six feet a year and a 150-foot-tall, mature tree can develop a vase-shaped crown 75 feet across.

Above: Canada Geese adults and goslings yesterday on the MSU campus near the Red Cedar River

Spring is a time of graduation and, over the last several weeks, the young of East Lansing, outfitted in their youthful finery, have been trying out their wings and leaving the nest. Fledging and immaturity are risky times for young birds, as for all young animals. Sharp-eyed East Lansing residents may come upon young birds in the community this time of year as they try out their new environments.

Image: The author’s children on the Grand River near Grand Ledge

This week’s reader question: Where are good places around here to canoe or kayak?

There are many river options in the area.

Red Cedar River:

These options are all doable with a return by bike or car:

While many people associate the Red Cedar with fish and various wildlife there is a wide diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates, more commonly referred to as aquatic insects, that also call the river home. Eight major categories of insects spend at least part of their lifecycle in freshwater ecosystems, each playing a vital role in the food web.

As a lover of vegetable gardening, I look forward each spring to the first “meals from the garden.” Even with our jerry-rigged greenhouse of three old storm windows laid across a repurposed sandbox, the lettuces, spinach, and arugula planted a month ago aren’t yet anywhere near ready to pick this early in the spring.

A fisherman proudly showing off his catch on the Red Cedar River

The Red Cedar River is 51 miles long, flowing directly through the heart of Michigan State University and eventually into the Grand River in Lansing. The river has been a symbol of the university since 1855 and is even referenced in the first lyrics of the fight song.

It is seen by some students and community members as an “eyesore” and “unhealthy.”

Above: Spartan Stadium’s scoreboard this past Saturday night, as seen from the City Center I parking garage.

The Red Cedar River extends approximately 51 miles, flowing through Fowlerville, Webberville, and Williamston before reaching East Lansing and its final destination, the Grand River in Lansing. The Red Cedar River watershed is approximately 472 square miles, a third of which is categorized as “urban” while the rest is predominantly agricultural.

Image: Metal mercury, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control

Mercury—the metal not the planet—has been in the East Lansing news since a spill at the East Lansing Wastewater Treatment plant and an ELi scoop about continuing concerns among city workers regarding exposure.

Should East Lansing residents worry about mercury? The short answer is yes, East Lansing residents should worry about mercury.

Image: The author's coast redwood. The leaves are very similar to those of the dawn redwood, but there is a key distinction: the leaves of the coast redwood alternate on each side of the stem while the dawn redwood leaves grow exactly opposite each other on the stem.

This is Geography Awareness Week, and so MSU’s Geography Chairperson, Prof. Alan Arbogast, wants you to be aware of geography. Explains Arbogast (shown above), geographers like him “think about location—where things are—but we also think about place. By ‘place’ we mean what makes a place distinctive. What makes it funky? Unique? Different? What makes it feel the way it feels?”

While the chill in the air and the leaves on the ground may signal the coming of winter, they also mark the time in East Lansing for planting many kind of bulbs. For plants that form them, bulbs are both the food storage and growth structures for spring.