Alcona Students Take the Lead on Water Quality in Harrisville

Students of Alcona Community School plant a rain garden at Harrisville Harbor in May. The project, designed to capture and filter stormwater runoff, is supported in part by the Lake Huron Forever initiative.

A rain garden at Harrisville Harbor is helping protect the water quality of Lake Huron while serving as a teaching tool for students, a showpiece for stormwater management and a testament to community-driven conservation.

Designed and installed in May by students of Alcona Community School, the garden will intercept thousands of gallons of stormwater annually, filtering out pollutants before they have a chance to reach Lake Huron. Its 450 native plants will also serve as a centerpiece for the community harbor.

Students led the project from start to finish as part of Kathryn Luce's Environmental Science class.

Instructor Kathryn Luce

“I can tell they enjoy the hands-on aspects of what they’re studying,” Luce said. “This is a positive, real world experience for my class.”

This project was supported in part by a $5,000 grant from the Lake Huron Forever Partners Program, which promotes community engagement, education initiatives and on-the-ground projects that protect Lake Huron. It was one of four grants awarded in Michigan earlier in 2023.

Native plants wait their turn to be installed into the rain garden at Harrisville Harbor.

Funding for the Michigan projects was made possible by Consumers Energy Foundation and their Planet Award program. Bay Area Community Foundation received funding support from this program in 2021 to advance the goals and vision of Lake Huron Forever in Michigan communities.

Dune Restoration Begins at Alpena Park

An effort to restore sand dunes along the beach of Mich-e-ke-wis Park is underway in Alpena, Michigan’s third Lake Huron Forever community.

Led by conservation nonprofit Huron Pines and supported by members serving with Huron Pines AmeriCorps, the project aims to make the park more resilient to erosion, promote water quality by filtering stormwater runoff and reestablish the natural plant community along this stretch of Lake Huron.

Members of Huron Pines AmeriCorps install temporary sand fencing in August.

The first phase was the installation of temporary fencing to help capture windblown sand and rebuild the dunes. Native plants will eventually be planted to further establish the dune habitat and help filter pollutants from rain and snowmelt before it reaches the lake.

The dune restoration project is the outcome of a community Green Stormwater Infrastructure Visioning Session hosted by Huron Pines at the George N. Fletcher Public Library in October 2022. At that event, community members were presented with examples of green infrastructure — rain gardens, bioswales, planter boxes and other features for capturing stormwater runoff — and had the opportunity to rank their favorite proposals for sites around Alpena. Community members were also invited to take part in an online poll.

Coastal Project Manager Amy Nowakowski and engineer Don Carpenter look over an aerial map of Alpena during a public visioning session in October 2022 in which community members identified priority areas to address stormwater runoff with green infrastructure.

“This was the top ranked proposal by those who attended the visioning session or commented online and we intend to follow through for the Alpena community,” said Samantha Nellis, Water Program Director for Huron Pines. “This site is well suited to demonstrate the benefits of a natural shoreline for erosion control and stormwater management, so it’s a positive project all around.”

Dunes are long, raised areas of sand and vegetation running parallel to the shoreline. Multiple dunes are separated by low, wet troughs called swales. Dune and swale landscapes help protect coastal areas from storm damage and erosion during high water years and serve as habitat for native plants and animals.

Temporary sand fencing runs along the beach at Mich-e-ke-wis Park where efforts to reestablish the natural dune landscape is in full swing.

“The biggest benefits of this project relate to coastal resilience,” Nellis said. “These dune complexes really help protect against storm surges, lake level changes and the impacts of climate-related events.”

Members of Huron Pines AmeriCorps assisted in this effort as part of their service, which requires them to help restore a set amount of public land each year.

Huron Pines AmeriCorps member Mar Dunstone

“The restoration project is a chance for members to learn more about dune ecology and get hands-on experience in a coastal Michigan community,” said AmeriCorps Program Manager Amanda Vanaman. “Many of our members go on to have careers in natural resources, so learning more about what can be done to protect the Great Lakes and working closely with shoreline communities in these efforts is especially valuable for them.”

An artistic rendering of a restored dune landscape at Mich-e-ke-wis. Image courtesy Drummond Carpenter, PLLC.

Public access at Mich-e-ke-wis Park is not affected by the temporary fence or the resulting dunes, and ADA-compliant beach access is being considered as part of the overall project. Park visitors are asked to keep out of the fenced area to minimize disturbance to the dunes as they take shape.

Alpena became the third community to take the Lake Huron Forever pledge when the City, Charter Township and County of Alpena collectively signed the pledge in August.

Support for this project is provided by the City of Alpena. Renderings and design by Drummond Carpenter, PLLC were supported by Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.