Scenes From One Water Gathering 2024
Participants of One Water Gathering, held Sept. 27 in Bay City, Michigan.
We convened more than 30 partners & friends from Michigan, Canada and Tribal Nations in Bay City, Sept. 27 for One Water Gathering, the annual conference of the Lake Huron Forever initiative.
The day began with a water ceremony on the banks of the Saginaw River, led in song by Daisy Kostus of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe while a rainbow ringed the rising sun. It was an opportunity to pay our respects to the water and it set the tone for a day of learning, exploration and fellowship.
Mechelle, Shoshana and Michael McCreery, Kelly Willis and Daisy Kostus (l-r) of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. Kostus led One Water Gathering participants in a water ceremony that morning with song and offerings of tobacco to the Saginaw River.
Together we explored project sites throughout the Bay area where initiative partners are restoring nature to former industrial sites, protecting water quality and working toward a healthy future for Lake Huron and the communities which line her shores.
Our first stop was at Saginaw River Headwaters Rec Area, a 334-acre natural area positioned where the Shiawassee and Tittabawassee rivers merge and create the Saginaw River. Once the site of the Saginaw Malleable Iron Facility, it is now a refuge for waterfowl and wildlife, aids in water quality and reducing human impacts from flooding, and provides recreation opportunities for the community. This transformation is the result of a unique partnership between state, nonprofit and municipal stakeholders.
Participants overlook a wetland teeming with waterfowl at Saginaw River Headwaters Rec Area.
Matt Conrad, of Ducks Unlimited, glasses for waterfowl.
Brian Keenan-Lechel, Director of the Saginaw County Parks Department, at Saginaw River Headwaters Rec Area.
Next we visited the former site of two major coal-fired power plants owned and operated by Consumers Energy. Since 1940 these complexes have provided both power and major economic investment for Hampton Township and Bay County. With Consumers Energy’s decision to decommission and demolish these local plants by 2025, there is a movement to reimagine the space as one that can support renewable energy, parks and wildlands.
READ MORE: Where the River Meets the Bay, Sept. 2024 report (pdf)
One Water Gathering participants tour the Consumers Energy D.E. Karn Generating Complex in Hampton Township on the shore of Saginaw Bay.
Closing out the tour was a stop at the 43-acre Middlegrounds site, located on Middleground Island in the Saginaw River. Managed by the City of Bay City, this area is part of an extensive municipal park and greenspace system. Partnering with Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy, the City has now converted the site to a wildflower prairie to support pollinators and capture stormwater runoff.
Wildflowers bloom at the Middlegrounds prairie in Bay City.
Shelli Thurston of the City of Bay City and Trevor Edmonds of Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy share some of the restoration work taking place at the Middlegrounds in Bay City.
We concluded our day with a luncheon at The Wanigan Eatery & Pub where we honored the City of Bay City for adopting the Lake Huron Forever pledge in 2022 and becoming the second Lake Huron Forever Community. Their pledge outlines challenges facing the community and ways they will work with initiative partners to address them through green stormwater infrastructure, urban tree plantings and community engagement efforts.
Shelli Thurston of the City of Bay City and Trevor Edmonds of Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy
Thank you to The Conservation Fund for hosting us as an addition to the State of the Bay Conference, to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe for opening the day with a water ceremony, and to all our friends and partners including Cook Family Foundation, Consumers Energy, Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan, Community Foundation Grey Bruce, Americana Foundation, Great Lakes Fishery Commission and Bay Area Community Foundation.