Odc Network

Programs: History: the outdoor discovery center macatawa greenway (odcmg) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit outdoor education and conservation organization founded in 1999. Through its programs, activity areas and interpretive exhibits, the odcmg provides thousands of students and community members with up-close views of nature and learning opportunities about the west michigan environment. More than 75,000 people annually visit odcmg sites to walk the trails, view the wildlife and participate in programs. In addition, the organization now protects over 1,200 acres along the macatawa river as part of the macatawa river greenway and a 150 acre nature preserve in fillmore township. The odc nature preserve is open to the public and offers many diverse programs that help foster the concepts of wildlife management, conservation, outdoor education and preservation. The preserve has six naturally occurring, distinct ecosystems on its 150 acre site which include: ponds, remnant dunes, wetlands, meadows, remnant prairies, and lowland hardwood forests. This unique and ecologically diverse area offers the community and schools a place to experience nature close up. Nearly four miles of walking trails and boardwalks wind through the grounds and provide access (including handicap access) to the various ecosystems. A fully accessible half-mile sensory trail features interpretive areas along it that allow all visitors, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, to enjoy and learn about nature. Located along the trails are interpretive signs, wildlife viewing points and outdoor classroom areas/educational stations. Two nature play areas at the preserve are very popular with young visitors who play in sand boxes, play houses and other structures, or explore grasses, trees, and logs or natural wonders. Founders hall, the education building at the entrance of the property, houses wildlife displays and includes a visitor's information center, restrooms and a classroom. The field station houses a research lab that is used by several local colleges, serves as a temporary display site for an extensive north american wildlife taxidermy collection and provides indoor and outdoor classroom space for the little hawks discovery preschool, a program of the hamilton community school district. The macatawa river greenway project is an effort to protect the banks, floodplain forest, marsh, meadows, and wetlands along the macatawa river, the community's main river. By protecting this continuous corridor for wildlife and plant habitat, the greenway also significantly improves the quality of the waters flowing into lake macatawa and lake michigan. Throughout the greenway, visitors will find wildlife viewing platforms and overlooks allowing visitors to view and explore the diverse macatawa river environment. Programs: in partnership with school districts throughout west michigan, the center provides field trips and on-site curriculum-correlated programs for students, as well as pre and post visit activities in the classroom. Programs include: snowshoeing, fishing, handicap sensory nature walks, bird watching, ecosystem studies, pond studies, summer camps, natural history and wildlife studies. Through these programs, students get an up- close view of nature and opportunities to learn about and better appreciate the environment in which they live. In all of its educational programs, the center's inquiry-based style of programming allows students to learn about and experience nature and culture in a hands-on manner. Keystone programs include: nature school, live birds of prey, native american lifeways, connecting children and nature, river encounters, and nature-based education for a healthy future. Nature schools is a preschool program in which children are introduced to the natural world through songs, games, activities, and extensive outdoor exploration. Live birds of prey is an award-winning program which features live raptors on display in a specially built education facility. The historically accurate neshnabe summer village is a reconstructed michigan native american village that is the setting for cultural history programs. Connecting children and nature programs address the issues of decreased outdoor activity, sedentary indoor lifestyles, and increased time in front of various electronic media by children and adults. The goal of this special track of programs is to encourage people to go outdoors, appreciate the natural world, enjoy nature and develop a lifestyle that includes frequent outdoor activity. River encounters are paddling trips along the macatawa river in the holland and zeeland area. The trips are designed to educate people about the macatawa watershed and the wildlife found there. Project clarity is a comunity-wide collaborative effort, led by the odc, to reduce the sediments in our watershed and clean up lake macatawa, an important recreation and economic resource. Significant 2014 collaborations: allegan area education services area and ottawa area intermedicate school district - programming in school districts throughout the counties including outdoor discovery without limits for students with special needs. Camp o'malley - summer programs for inner city children at the grand rapids boys and girls club camp. Children and nature network - partner in the no child left inside initiative and contributor to the c&nn international information center for outdoor awareness and education initiatives. Governmental units including the cities of holland and zeeland, and surrounding townships of fillmore, park, holland charter, zeeland and laketown - provide conservation services for invasive species removal, wetland management and outdoor programming in local parks. Hamilton community schools - little hawks discovery preschool meets at the odc site, is staffed by hcs personnel and includes support from odc staff for nature-based instruction. Hope college - operates a field lab on the odc preserve for research and environmental education programs. Macatawa area coordinating council watershed project - partners in research and local watershed education and conservation programs. Michigan dept of natural resources - conservation projects including invasive species removal in local marshes. Ottawa county parks & recreation - collaborate on watershed projects including wetland purchases and management, and interpretive sign production. Pottawatomie club - partner with the conservation club to manage invasive plant species and improve habitat in their 1500 acre kalamazoo river marsh.