Et cetera : Cedar Two Assists in the Cherry Capital

By: Yazmeen Green Cedar Two arrived in northern Michigan two weeks ago for their third round project of the year. They are working with Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) until early September. GTRLC is a land trust that works to protect and oversee land conservation efforts over a five-county area. It works closely with the community and currently manages 33 nature preserves. To date, the organization has protected over 32,000 acres of land and 77 miles of shoreline along the area’s rivers and lakes. The team has been focusing on trail building, invasive species removal and the seed collection of native grasses. They have been learning how to map using GPS units in order to detect and respond rapidly in the marking of invasive plants such as spotted knapweed and baby’s breath in grassland areas. This helps support a sustainable food supply for the grassland nesting birds. Cedar Two is also learning to navigate using a compass and to identify native and invasive plants. Cedar Two is also planning to complete a 17 mile hike and mountain biking trail near the community of Bellaire for the last three weeks of the project.