New Day Nature Trails

Summer is here, and so are the flowers on New Day Nature Trails! Black-Eyed Susan and Daisy Fleabane blanket the prairie. Native grasses are thriving. New trees are growing (pine, oak, redbud, dogwood, and more). And targeted invasive species treatments continue. This land shouts the glory and goodness of God! Please take some time to connect with God on the trails. Greet any neighbors you meet an...

Our third year of restoration work comes to a close with an explosion of color! We’re delighted by the progress made in the prairie space with native grasses and wildflowers doing well and invasives under control. The trails are well marked by clover that provides easy maintenance and a great food source for our furry friends. But the crowning jewel of the project this year has to be the Tickseed ...

Prairie flowers are in bloom! We've been looking forward to this milestone for 2 years and it's here! The black-eyed susan and sunflowers are stunning! In addition the clover we planted in May is healthy, strong, and serve a good purpose! Our walking paths are natural— we will pack down nice single-track dirt trails as we use them. You can see where the paths are located by the 6-10' wide clover p...

The dogwoods have bloomed, the clover sprouted, and the bur oaks were planted! The 20 new bur oak trees we planted will be a treasure for many years to come. Check out the photos below!As Spring rolls into Summer we will begin a mowing and invasive species treatment program, but there’s a parallel project in the works this year… Native species planting!!! Soon we will plant a mixture that includes...

The New Day Nature Trails restoration project continues in 2024! Our restoration contractor recently did trail-smoothing and stump-cutting work. Then the DNR planted a mixture of native species on our two berms near the parking lot trailhead and clover on every square foot of trail. Clover is our plan to differentiate the trails from the prairie and wooded areas. Rather than install pavement, grav...

It has been a busy few weeks on New Day Nature Trails! Today we planted 20 new trees in the south section of the property! There are 10 new White Pine Trees and 10 new White Oak Trees! No saplings this time guys! The pines come to about five feet tall and the oaks stand over 10 feet tall! Check out the pictures below…We also performed additional site clean up and invasive species treatment to wrap...

Original New Day Nature Trails artwork, by Sophia Devereaux, created on 09/25/2023.......

The oak tree pictured below resides on the south inner loop of New Day Nature Trails. Vines previously strangled this tree. It was bent over with the top touching the ground. Now this oak stands straight (with a little help). We can’t wait to see it become a mighty oak on our walking trail for years to come.Our plans for the fall include planting more trees! We have 34 flowering trees alive and we...

This week New Day Nature Trails got a thorough mowing and herbicide treatment. We are battling invasives and slowly winning! The oats we planted this year did a great job of competing with the invasives and occupying soil. As you can see in the picture below, we have a mixed bag right now (oats and pokeweed in this shot). We plan to do treatment in the fall, see what sprouts in the Spring, and go ...

Look at the beauty of the field, forest, and sky in the picture below! Gorgeous! Creation sings of the glory and goodness of God!......

Today was our first trail work day! It was a fun crew and a great time clipping roots, clearing stumps, and enjoying the trails together. Thanks to those who came, and to those excited to join us for the next one (date to be determined).......

Oat grasses are sprouting! The trails are open! Flowering tree saplings are growing! Invasives have been treated, mowed, and tree debris has been (mostly) cleared. Work will continue throughout the summer/fall.......

Phase 2 is underway and moving fast! Tons of work completed last week! Here’s a rundown of the action…The new trails have been established: cleared and raked smooth. Check out the trail map! Invasive species control continues. Treatments were applied last week to get things under control. These treatments will continue, eventually making way for another attempt to plant oats as a cover crop. Getti...

Phase 2 of our project is described in the April 25th post below. The new trails are marked with flags, so contractors bidding on the job can see where we want them to establish trails. That work will be under contract within about a week! But the big news is…  We planted about 40 flowering trees today!Near the main trailhead (and parking lot) there are several redbuds and dogwoods. Near the bird ...

Spring is here! We are so excited to begin work on Phase 2 of the New Day Nature Trails restoration project with the DNR. Our priorities for this year are:Establish new walking trailsContinue to eliminate invasive speciesTree work (both removals and plantings)We have such diverse sections of the property to restore and enjoy! We hope to develop the main prairie section with grasses and wildflowers...

Our partnership with the DNR continues in 2023! Phase 2 is now underway! This year's work will include beautiful new tree plantings, removal of some scrubby trees, continued treatment of any sprouting invasives, mowing/establishing of the trails, and we are even looking to begin designing projects/improvements for 2024 and beyond.Enjoy the property whenever you're able to! And please realize a res...

The New Day Nature Trails project was recently featured in an article for the Second Wave online magazine! The article was written by a New Day neighbor from the Valleywood neighborhood. Thanks so much for featuring this project in your article Theresa!Check it out here: https://www.secondwavemedia.com/southwest-michigan/features/A-new-path-for-New-Day-Kalamazoo-church-partners-with-DNR-to-share-l...

Phase 1 of our project is complete. The invasives have been removed and/or treated. So much space is opened up for what will become prairie and woodland areas. We can see the beauty that is to come in the near future! Also, oat grass seed has been broadcast and will come up in the spring. The oats are a temporary planting that are used to compete with any invasives that pop back up.We are very hap...

Our Candy Trail was so much fun once again this year! We adjusted the plan by hosting tables along the edge of the backyard. It was so fun to see the kids enjoying the candy, prizes, games, and playground on a beautiful afternoon! We look forward to being back on the trail for next year’s event!Trail Project: the work of clearing invasives will be wrapping up soon. Oat grasses will be planted to g...

Our staff walked the trail on a recent sunny day! It is so beautiful! You can appreciate the trees even more now that the overgrown invasive bushes have been removed. Our restoration contractor noticed several dogwood trees that are going to be spectacular in the Spring! Here’s a sneak peek of our walk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjvXLKoAE4U/......