Do you want to learn how your favorite beach may respond to predicted climate change? Then join researcher, Lukas Bell-Dereske for a special public program entitled “Climate Change in the Great Lakes Dunes: Responses of the Plant Community at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore” on Thursday, August 21 at 9 a.m. at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center auditorium in Empire.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore proposes to develop a hiking and paddling trail that follows the Lake Michigan shoreline in the park from Platte Bay to Good Harbor Bay. To do so, the National Lakeshore will prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA), which will describe and analyze alternatives for this trail.
A crew of five young adults are restoring part of Leelanau County’s past, and on Aug. 8-9 they’ll show you how it’s done at the Port Oneida Fair. They are bringing new life to the old Goffar Barn, a 30-foot by 40-foot timber frame building in Glen Arbor Township. Located at the north end of Port Oneida/M-22 on Lake Narada, the 19th century barn is one of 366 historic structures located within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in varying states of repair.
As darkness falls on Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the glorious night sky becomes visible. You can enjoy special night sky experiences at the National Lakeshore this year through a series of monthly astronomy programs from now through October. Join Park Rangers and the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) for guided explorations of the night sky and even a few daytime events as well. The next Solar Viewing and Star Party event is Saturday, July 26, 4-6 p.m. and 9-11 p.m., at Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive Overlook #3. Please park at Picnic Mountain; the next right after the #2 stop. From 4-6 p.m., there will be a solar viewing opportunity to see the sun up-close. Solar glasses will be available to borrow. Then from 9-11 p.m., view the stars, Mars, Saturn and the summer Milky Way.
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB), a partner organization of the National Park, has many opportunities coming up for visitors and residents to learn about, and help preserve, the heritage of the Sleeping Bear Dunes area this summer.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host a book signing with Anna Egan Smucker, author of the children’s book To Keep the South Manitou Light, at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 2, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The public is invited to a special presentation about the Great Lakes on Sunday, June 29, at 1 p.m. at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire. Please join Cameron Davis in the epicenter of all Great Lakes legends and stories, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, to hear about current efforts to save the Great Lakes and share some of your own stories … after all, our own personal stories are part of what strengthen our connection to our beloved Great Lakes.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host its annual barn restoration workshop June 19-21 at the Schmidt Farm located on Norconk Road, three miles south of Empire, and one mile west of M-22. This year marks the 18th anniversary of a partnership between the Michigan Barn Preservation Network and the National Lakeshore in developing this series of “hands-on” workshops. The park and the Michigan Barn Preservation Network are providing the skilled labor to put on this workshop.
Glen Arbor Sun editor Jacob Wheeler took a spin Thursday evening on the newly completed Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail section between the Dune Climb and Empire. It’s a beautiful, hilly ride! Along the way, he interviewed Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Deputy Superintendent Tom Ulrich and Duneswood Resort owner Debbie Rettke, about how this leg of the trail differs from the Dune Climb-to-Glen Arbor leg, what the expanded trail means for the National Park, and for local biking in general, and how folks have reacted to it so far. Check out this video.
The Port Oneida Community Alliance was formed with the purpose to adaptively reuse the Port Oneida School and Kelderhouse Homestead as a community center and a teaching farm. The vision is to provide hands on opportunities for education, recreation and celebration of historical knowledge, environmental stewardship and sustainable agriculture in order to honor and perpetuate the legacy and community spirit of the resilient and loyal subsistence farmers who called Port Oneida their home.