Ottawa County Parks and Recreation has announced the launch of its new all-day, week-long summer camps, running from June 9 to Aug. 22.
Each week will be packed with exciting activities designed to spark curiosity, encourage learning, and celebrate the great outdoors.
Sign in is from 8 to 9:30 a.m. each day, with sign out from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The fee is $225 for a county resident and $250 for a non-resident. Sibling discounts apply at checkout with 10 percent off each additional sibling.
There are two age groups for the summer camp:
Greenway Explorers (Ages 6-8): Campers will explore Hager Park, a 104-acre family park in Georgetown Township, known for its scenic nature trails and multiple playgrounds, providing the perfect setting for outdoor exploration and adventure.
Greenway Voyageurs (Ages 9-13): Campers will explore Grand River Park, a 162-acre gem in Georgetown Township, featuring five distinct ecosystems and scenic views along the Grand River.
Each week offers exciting activities and hands-on learning to spark curiosity and a love for nature.
WEEK 1: June 9-13
Beautiful Birds: Every day brings a new adventure, filled with exciting birdwatching excursions, crafts, and interactive lessons. Whether they’re spotting birds in the wild, building birdhouses, or learning how birds communicate, campers will gain a deeper appreciation for our feathered friends and their habitats.
WEEK 7: July 21-25
Happy Herptiles: Campers will dive into the slimy, scaly, and sometimes surprising world of frogs, lizards, turtles, snakes, and salamanders. Through interactive lessons, exciting wildlife expeditions, and animal encounters, they will learn about these often-misunderstood creatures and their importance in the ecosystem
WEEK 10: Aug. 11-15
Survival Camp: Get ready to master essential outdoor survival skills. Campers will build shelters, start fires, and navigate using maps and compasses through hands-on challenges. By week’s end, they’ll gain valuable skills and a deeper appreciation for nature.
To register for the Ottawa County Parks summer camps, visit miottawa.org/parks/camps.
Each week will be packed with exciting activities designed to spark curiosity, encourage learning, and celebrate the great outdoors.
Sign in is from 8 to 9:30 a.m. each day, with sign out from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The fee is $225 for a county resident and $250 for a non-resident. Sibling discounts apply at checkout with 10 percent off each additional sibling.
There are two age groups for the summer camp:
Greenway Explorers (Ages 6-8): Campers will explore Hager Park, a 104-acre family park in Georgetown Township, known for its scenic nature trails and multiple playgrounds, providing the perfect setting for outdoor exploration and adventure.
Greenway Voyageurs (Ages 9-13): Campers will explore Grand River Park, a 162-acre gem in Georgetown Township, featuring five distinct ecosystems and scenic views along the Grand River.
Each week offers exciting activities and hands-on learning to spark curiosity and a love for nature.
WEEK 1: June 9-13
Beautiful Birds: Every day brings a new adventure, filled with exciting birdwatching excursions, crafts, and interactive lessons. Whether they’re spotting birds in the wild, building birdhouses, or learning how birds communicate, campers will gain a deeper appreciation for our feathered friends and their habitats.
WEEK 7: July 21-25
Happy Herptiles: Campers will dive into the slimy, scaly, and sometimes surprising world of frogs, lizards, turtles, snakes, and salamanders. Through interactive lessons, exciting wildlife expeditions, and animal encounters, they will learn about these often-misunderstood creatures and their importance in the ecosystem
WEEK 10: Aug. 11-15
Survival Camp: Get ready to master essential outdoor survival skills. Campers will build shelters, start fires, and navigate using maps and compasses through hands-on challenges. By week’s end, they’ll gain valuable skills and a deeper appreciation for nature.
To register for the Ottawa County Parks summer camps, visit miottawa.org/parks/camps.
Turkey Hunting: My Favorite Sport
Some turkey hunters use homemade slate calls like these to assist them in hunting.
Photo courtesy Jack Payne
Photo courtesy Jack Payne
Saugatuck Brewing, DNR Team Up to Protect Lake Sturgeon
A 2024 Michigan Department of Natural Resources/Saugatuck Brewing Company partnership raised $10,000 to support fishing habitat restoration. Shown here (from left) are Scott Whitcomb, director, DNR Office of Public Lands; John Miller, CEO of Saugatuck Brewing Company; Patrick Mohney, senior lands program manager, DNR Office of Public Lands; and Scott Bowen, director, Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Photo courtesy Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Outdoor Truths
By Gary Miller
In my home state of Tennessee, turkey season starts on April 12. For years, the opening dates were always the last Saturday in March. But as the number of birds started to decline, the game commission changed the dates.
While there were probably several reasons, I think one of the main ones was to let the hens get bred before hunting season.
While I hate waiting the two extra weeks, I think the commission’s plan worked. During the last couple of years, I have seen more turkeys than I have in several years prior. That gets me excited for this upcoming season.
Another change, however, has been the limit of birds a hunter can harvest. While it used to be as many as four, we are only allowed two now.
So, my season is shorter, and my opportunities are fewer. And to add to all of that, hunters are entering the field when the gobblers are acting differently than they were two weeks earlier. It seems everything has changed – except for the target. If you’ve lived long enough, this is nothing new – in every area of life.
One of the things I’m thankful for is that as I have grown older, I have never been the person who has “longed for the good ol’ days” or who has bemoaned the seemingly moral and ethical decline of the present generation. That’s not to say that some things are not worse now than before, but that it’s just not been something that I have embraced.
To me, when I say those things, a whole host of bad things come to mind. I think of things like forgetting that my parents said the same thing about my generation. It also gives me the vibes that I am becoming unwilling to grow and learn, and that I’m becoming a cranky old man. And maybe more than anything, those thoughts give me the feeling that I should just give up on people and on even trying – that I should just mind my own business and become a hermit because this new generation is forever unredeemable. I mean, why couldn’t they just leave the turkey season like it was?
What do all these things have in common? My constant contentless complaints. What do my constant contentless complaints say about me? That the Spirit of God has not done His real work in my life.
Don’t take my word for it. The Apostle Paul explained succinctly what God is trying to bring about in my life. He said, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things.” (Gal. 5:22-23 NLT)
And what one should notice about these are how none of them can be done while complaining. So, when change comes, thank God that He thought you were the perfect person to be alive at this time, to show not only how to change gracefully, but how to love those whose season is different than yours.
—————
Gary Miller has written Outdoor Truths articles for 21 years. He has also written five books which include compilations of his articles and a father/son devotional. He also speaks at wild-game dinners and men’s events for churches and associations. Write to him at gary@outdoortruths.org.
In my home state of Tennessee, turkey season starts on April 12. For years, the opening dates were always the last Saturday in March. But as the number of birds started to decline, the game commission changed the dates.
While there were probably several reasons, I think one of the main ones was to let the hens get bred before hunting season.
While I hate waiting the two extra weeks, I think the commission’s plan worked. During the last couple of years, I have seen more turkeys than I have in several years prior. That gets me excited for this upcoming season.
Another change, however, has been the limit of birds a hunter can harvest. While it used to be as many as four, we are only allowed two now.
So, my season is shorter, and my opportunities are fewer. And to add to all of that, hunters are entering the field when the gobblers are acting differently than they were two weeks earlier. It seems everything has changed – except for the target. If you’ve lived long enough, this is nothing new – in every area of life.
One of the things I’m thankful for is that as I have grown older, I have never been the person who has “longed for the good ol’ days” or who has bemoaned the seemingly moral and ethical decline of the present generation. That’s not to say that some things are not worse now than before, but that it’s just not been something that I have embraced.
To me, when I say those things, a whole host of bad things come to mind. I think of things like forgetting that my parents said the same thing about my generation. It also gives me the vibes that I am becoming unwilling to grow and learn, and that I’m becoming a cranky old man. And maybe more than anything, those thoughts give me the feeling that I should just give up on people and on even trying – that I should just mind my own business and become a hermit because this new generation is forever unredeemable. I mean, why couldn’t they just leave the turkey season like it was?
What do all these things have in common? My constant contentless complaints. What do my constant contentless complaints say about me? That the Spirit of God has not done His real work in my life.
Don’t take my word for it. The Apostle Paul explained succinctly what God is trying to bring about in my life. He said, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things.” (Gal. 5:22-23 NLT)
And what one should notice about these are how none of them can be done while complaining. So, when change comes, thank God that He thought you were the perfect person to be alive at this time, to show not only how to change gracefully, but how to love those whose season is different than yours.
—————
Gary Miller has written Outdoor Truths articles for 21 years. He has also written five books which include compilations of his articles and a father/son devotional. He also speaks at wild-game dinners and men’s events for churches and associations. Write to him at gary@outdoortruths.org.
Grow an Abundant Harvest of Peppers This Season
Peppers can be grown in container gardens or the ground.
Photo courtesy of All-America Selections
By Melinda Myers
Whether you garden on an acre or a balcony, there’s always room for peppers. Grow them in a vegetable garden, container, or with your flowers. The colorful fruit of many varieties makes them a decorative addition to any garden.
For those that like it hot, get to know the Scoville scale. This system rates the relative hotness of peppers with bell peppers rating 0, jalapeno at 2,500 to 5,000, cayenne rated 30,000 to 50,000, and habanero receiving the superhot 100,000 to 300,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). This scale can help you determine which hot pepper is best for you. For those who like really hot peppers, the Ghost pepper averages about 1 million SHU, Carolina Reaper averages 1.6 million SHU and Pepper X measures 2.7 million SHU.
Whether you grow sweet or hot peppers, proper care from planting to harvest will yield the best flavor and an abundant harvest. Grow peppers in a sunny location with moist, well-drained soil. Add several inches of organic matter into the top 8 to 12” of soil, if gardening in poorly drained clay soil or fast draining sandy or rocky soils. This compost improves drainage and increases the water holding ability of fast draining soils. This is also a good time to add a low nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer.
Peppers, like its cousins, tomatoes and eggplants, like it warm. Wait for the soil to warm to 60° degrees, about two weeks after the last spring frost. Colder temperatures in the 40s can stunt and damage your transplants.
You can jump start the season with the help of cloches, wall-o-waters, and floating row covers. These protect your plants from frost and cooler temperatures, which are often common at the start of the season. Use them to keep plants warm and help shorten the time to harvest.
Plant peppers 18 to 20 inches apart depending on the variety. Check the tag for mature size and recommended spacing. Make the most of your available space by planting in wide rows. Stagger rows within the bed, allowing just enough room for plants to reach their full size. Design pathways to allow for easy access to all the plants within the wide row.
Grow a few peppers in containers alone or mix them with herbs and flowers. A 2-to-3-gallon pot is perfect for a pepper plant and its smaller companions. Check the soil moisture daily and water thoroughly when the top inch of soil is dry.
Make sure pepper plants growing in the ground receive about an inch of water each week. Supplement rainfall as needed, applying water to the soil surface using a watering wand, soaker hose or drip irrigation. Spread a layer of shredded leaves, evergreen needles or other organic material over the soil surface to conserve moisture, keep roots cool as temperatures soar, and help suppress weeds.
Once the fruit forms, you may need to add fertilizer. Let the plants’ growth and fertilizer directions be your guide.
Peppers grow and produce best when day temperatures are 70 to 80 degrees and night temperatures are 60 to 70 degrees. Hot peppers seem to tolerate the heat better than sweet varieties. Cold, heat, and drought are the most common causes of blossom drop, misshapen fruit, and a poor harvest. Night temperatures over 90 degrees and under 55 degrees can cause blossoms to drop. Continue providing proper care and wait for better weather for flowering and fruiting.
With proper care throughout the season and a bit of cooperation from the weather, you are sure to enjoy an abundant harvest.
—————
Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, Revised Edition, and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.
Whether you garden on an acre or a balcony, there’s always room for peppers. Grow them in a vegetable garden, container, or with your flowers. The colorful fruit of many varieties makes them a decorative addition to any garden.
For those that like it hot, get to know the Scoville scale. This system rates the relative hotness of peppers with bell peppers rating 0, jalapeno at 2,500 to 5,000, cayenne rated 30,000 to 50,000, and habanero receiving the superhot 100,000 to 300,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). This scale can help you determine which hot pepper is best for you. For those who like really hot peppers, the Ghost pepper averages about 1 million SHU, Carolina Reaper averages 1.6 million SHU and Pepper X measures 2.7 million SHU.
Whether you grow sweet or hot peppers, proper care from planting to harvest will yield the best flavor and an abundant harvest. Grow peppers in a sunny location with moist, well-drained soil. Add several inches of organic matter into the top 8 to 12” of soil, if gardening in poorly drained clay soil or fast draining sandy or rocky soils. This compost improves drainage and increases the water holding ability of fast draining soils. This is also a good time to add a low nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer.
Peppers, like its cousins, tomatoes and eggplants, like it warm. Wait for the soil to warm to 60° degrees, about two weeks after the last spring frost. Colder temperatures in the 40s can stunt and damage your transplants.
You can jump start the season with the help of cloches, wall-o-waters, and floating row covers. These protect your plants from frost and cooler temperatures, which are often common at the start of the season. Use them to keep plants warm and help shorten the time to harvest.
Plant peppers 18 to 20 inches apart depending on the variety. Check the tag for mature size and recommended spacing. Make the most of your available space by planting in wide rows. Stagger rows within the bed, allowing just enough room for plants to reach their full size. Design pathways to allow for easy access to all the plants within the wide row.
Grow a few peppers in containers alone or mix them with herbs and flowers. A 2-to-3-gallon pot is perfect for a pepper plant and its smaller companions. Check the soil moisture daily and water thoroughly when the top inch of soil is dry.
Make sure pepper plants growing in the ground receive about an inch of water each week. Supplement rainfall as needed, applying water to the soil surface using a watering wand, soaker hose or drip irrigation. Spread a layer of shredded leaves, evergreen needles or other organic material over the soil surface to conserve moisture, keep roots cool as temperatures soar, and help suppress weeds.
Once the fruit forms, you may need to add fertilizer. Let the plants’ growth and fertilizer directions be your guide.
Peppers grow and produce best when day temperatures are 70 to 80 degrees and night temperatures are 60 to 70 degrees. Hot peppers seem to tolerate the heat better than sweet varieties. Cold, heat, and drought are the most common causes of blossom drop, misshapen fruit, and a poor harvest. Night temperatures over 90 degrees and under 55 degrees can cause blossoms to drop. Continue providing proper care and wait for better weather for flowering and fruiting.
With proper care throughout the season and a bit of cooperation from the weather, you are sure to enjoy an abundant harvest.
—————
Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, Revised Edition, and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.
Natural Fish Kills May be Common During Spring Thaw
As ice and snow cover melt on Michigan lakes this spring, you may see dead fish or other aquatic animals.
Given the return to a more “normal” Michigan winter this year — with more cold days and near-average snowfall across the state — you may notice more dead fish than you have in the past few years. While such sights can be startling, the Department of Natural Resources reminds everyone that it is normal for winter conditions to cause some mortality of fish and other creatures such as turtles, frogs, toads and crayfish.
“Winterkill is the most common type of fish kill," said Aaron Switzer, DNR Fish Production Program manager. "It can be particularly common in shallow lakes, ponds, streams and canals during seasonal changes. It’s a natural phenomenon, and these kills are localized. They typically do not affect the overall health of fish populations or fishing quality.”
Shallow lakes with a large amount of aquatic vegetation and soft bottoms are more prone to winterkill, particularly when a deep snowpack reduces sunlight for the plants. Canals in urban areas also are quite susceptible, due to the large amounts of nutrient runoff and pollution from roads, lawns and septic systems that flow into these areas, especially after large storm events.
Fish also may be affected by rapid changes in water temperature due to unseasonably warm or rapidly warming temperatures, leading to stress and, sometimes, mortality. Fish can become easily stressed in winter due to low energy reserves because feeding is at a minimum in winter. They are then less able to handle low oxygen and temperature swings. That could be the case this year with the record or near-record cold temperatures and large snowfalls Michigan experienced, and potential rapid warming in the coming months.
Fish and all forms of aquatic life need dissolved oxygen to survive. When ice and snow cover reduce the daylight that reaches the water depths, aquatic plants stop producing oxygen, and many die. Bacteria use the remaining oxygen in the water to decompose the dead plants and other organic materials on the lake bottom.
With available oxygen reduced, more aquatic animals die and start to break down, speeding up the rate that oxygen is used for decomposition. This further decreases dissolved oxygen levels in the water, creating a cycle of increased winterkill.
Fish and other aquatic life that die in late winter may not be noticed until well after the ice leaves lakes, as the cold water may temporarily preserve them.
“If you see dead fish as a result of winterkill, the fish may appear fuzzy. This is because of secondary infection by fungus, but the fungus was not the cause of death,” Switzer said. “The fish actually suffocated from a lack of dissolved oxygen from decaying plants and dead aquatic animals under the ice.”
Visit the DNR website for more information on fish kills in Michigan. You can report fish kills at Michigan.gov/EyesInTheField; these reports are valuable to the DNR’s management of aquatic resources in Michigan. If you suspect a fish kill is due to non-natural causes, call the nearest DNR office or Michigan's Pollution Emergency Alert System at (800) 292-4706.
Given the return to a more “normal” Michigan winter this year — with more cold days and near-average snowfall across the state — you may notice more dead fish than you have in the past few years. While such sights can be startling, the Department of Natural Resources reminds everyone that it is normal for winter conditions to cause some mortality of fish and other creatures such as turtles, frogs, toads and crayfish.
“Winterkill is the most common type of fish kill," said Aaron Switzer, DNR Fish Production Program manager. "It can be particularly common in shallow lakes, ponds, streams and canals during seasonal changes. It’s a natural phenomenon, and these kills are localized. They typically do not affect the overall health of fish populations or fishing quality.”
Shallow lakes with a large amount of aquatic vegetation and soft bottoms are more prone to winterkill, particularly when a deep snowpack reduces sunlight for the plants. Canals in urban areas also are quite susceptible, due to the large amounts of nutrient runoff and pollution from roads, lawns and septic systems that flow into these areas, especially after large storm events.
Fish also may be affected by rapid changes in water temperature due to unseasonably warm or rapidly warming temperatures, leading to stress and, sometimes, mortality. Fish can become easily stressed in winter due to low energy reserves because feeding is at a minimum in winter. They are then less able to handle low oxygen and temperature swings. That could be the case this year with the record or near-record cold temperatures and large snowfalls Michigan experienced, and potential rapid warming in the coming months.
Fish and all forms of aquatic life need dissolved oxygen to survive. When ice and snow cover reduce the daylight that reaches the water depths, aquatic plants stop producing oxygen, and many die. Bacteria use the remaining oxygen in the water to decompose the dead plants and other organic materials on the lake bottom.
With available oxygen reduced, more aquatic animals die and start to break down, speeding up the rate that oxygen is used for decomposition. This further decreases dissolved oxygen levels in the water, creating a cycle of increased winterkill.
Fish and other aquatic life that die in late winter may not be noticed until well after the ice leaves lakes, as the cold water may temporarily preserve them.
“If you see dead fish as a result of winterkill, the fish may appear fuzzy. This is because of secondary infection by fungus, but the fungus was not the cause of death,” Switzer said. “The fish actually suffocated from a lack of dissolved oxygen from decaying plants and dead aquatic animals under the ice.”
Visit the DNR website for more information on fish kills in Michigan. You can report fish kills at Michigan.gov/EyesInTheField; these reports are valuable to the DNR’s management of aquatic resources in Michigan. If you suspect a fish kill is due to non-natural causes, call the nearest DNR office or Michigan's Pollution Emergency Alert System at (800) 292-4706.
