Ottawa Conservation District

Ottawa Conservation District Helping people to maintain and improve our natural resources and environment for future generations in Ottawa County and beyond.

First Michigan Conservation District established in 1938. Ottawa CD was founding in 1938 by landowners who were concerned about soil erosion problems in the county. Today the district continues efforts to prevent soil erosion and has expanded to provide a wide array of natural resource conservation programs and services.

Celebrate local farm and food culture the evening of Sept. 17, 2026 at Farms are the Tapas, Ottawa County’s annual fundr...
09/07/2026

Celebrate local farm and food culture the evening of Sept. 17, 2026 at Farms are the Tapas, Ottawa County’s annual fundraising dinner and silent auction for farmland preservation at The Red Shed + Byre 53: Two Unique Event Venues outside Hudsonville!

Now in its 10th year, Farms are the Tapas features local chefs serving up fresh tapas dishes as part of a friendly cooking competition for the coveted Harvest Knife Award. Guests are invited to vote on their favorite dish by text and virtually bid on a unique selection of silent auction items – all while supporting local agriculture!

A limited number of tickets are available - secure yours now at event.gives/tapas2026.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 26th!! 🎉 Our Fall Native Plant Sale will be taking place from 9am-12pm at ou...
09/04/2026

Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 26th!! 🎉 Our Fall Native Plant Sale will be taking place from 9am-12pm at our office (16731 Ferris St, Grand Haven, MI 49417) or Hemlock Crossing Nature Center in the event of rain.

We are also looking for some volunteers to help us set-up on Friday, September 25th in the afternoon. To sign-up, please visit https://ottawacd.org/volunteer/ (under "About" on our website).

We look forward to seeing you soon! Happy planting! 🌱

Join the Rush Creek Stakeholder partners in a stream cleanup on Rush Creek on September 12th! The cleanup will occur fro...
09/02/2026

Join the Rush Creek Stakeholder partners in a stream cleanup on Rush Creek on September 12th! The cleanup will occur from 10 AM - 2 PM and all participants get a free lunch and free t-shirt. Please register in advance at bit.ly/rushcreek2026

Holy cow! It's already September!? 🤯We have so many fun events lined up, including our infamous Fall Native Plant Sale o...
09/01/2026

Holy cow! It's already September!? 🤯

We have so many fun events lined up, including our infamous Fall Native Plant Sale on Saturday, September 26th from 9am-12pm. To learn allllll the details (plant lists, pricing, and more), visit https://ottawacd.org/browse-n-buy-sale/.

To learn more about each event, please check out our website at https://ottawacd.org/events/.

August is the best time to check your trees for Asian longhorned beetle (ALB)! ALB is an invasive wood-boring beetle tha...
09/01/2026

August is the best time to check your trees for Asian longhorned beetle (ALB)! ALB is an invasive wood-boring beetle that attacks at least 12 types of hardwood trees, including maples, elms, horse chestnuts, birches, and willows, causing tree mortality. The larvae tunnel within the tree, and the adults bore distinctive round exit holes.
The closest native lookalike is the whitespotted sawyer, which feeds on dead and dying conifers and plays an important ecosystem role in breaking down decaying wood, which adds nutrients back into the soil.

Familiarize yourself with ALB and the damage it causes, and if you think you have ALB, call the ALB hotline at 866-702-9938 or submit an online report to the USDA via their webpage: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/form/report-it

POV: you're a fish in Crockery Creek about to be sampled by the OCD team 🐟This past Tuesday, OCD staff conducted a Fish,...
08/28/2026

POV: you're a fish in Crockery Creek about to be sampled by the OCD team 🐟

This past Tuesday, OCD staff conducted a Fish, Macroinvertebrate, and Habitat survey at two sites along mainstem Crockery Creek. We found some cool fish and bugs and have learned more about the water quality of Crockery Creek!

It's been a busy summer of surveying, water chemistry sampling, data analysis and more and we're looking forward to sharing data publicly by the end of 2026.

Pre-orders for garden kits and dune grass are due TOMORROW (8/28) at 12pm! Pick-up will be during our browse-n-buy Fall ...
08/27/2026

Pre-orders for garden kits and dune grass are due TOMORROW (8/28) at 12pm! Pick-up will be during our browse-n-buy Fall Native Plant Sale on Saturday, September 26th at our office. 🔆

To learn more about what each garden kit has to offer, or get pickup information, please visit https://ottawacd.org/pre-orders/. To submit an order, visit our online store at https://ottawa-conservation-district.myshopify.com/. Happy shopping (and planting)!

We are one month away from our Fall Native Plant Sale! 🎉 The sale takes place on Saturday, September 26th from 9am-12pm ...
08/26/2026

We are one month away from our Fall Native Plant Sale! 🎉 The sale takes place on Saturday, September 26th from 9am-12pm at our office (or Hemlock Crossing Nature Center in the event of rain). Plants are available on a first-come first-serve basis, so we recommend coming early to secure the plants on your wish list.

To view a list of the plants we plan on having available (emphasize on the word plan, sometimes pest issues and plant damage happen right before the sale!), please visit https://ottawacd.org/browse-n-buy-sale/.

**Pre-order pickups will also take place during the sale.**

We have TWO upcoming to workshops about Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA)!Learn how to apply integrated pest management (IPM)...
08/24/2026

We have TWO upcoming to workshops about Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA)!

Learn how to apply integrated pest management (IPM) principles to manage HWA. You may be eligible to receive free tree cages and a property walk-through with a Forestry Assistance Program forester (available only to qualifying properties; supplies are limited).

🌲The first workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 9th at 6pm at the Felt Estate Carriage House (6597 138th Ave, Holland, MI 49423).

🌲The second workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 15th at 6pm at the Hemlock Crossing Nature Center (8115 West Olive Road, West Olive , MI 49460).

These events will be held in-person, but there will also be a virtual attendance option. The Zoom link will be sent out to registrants prior to the event. To learn more and register, please visit https://ottawacd.org/events/.

There is only ONE week left to get in your pre-orders for Garden Kits and Beach Grass! There are 8 different habitat-spe...
08/21/2026

There is only ONE week left to get in your pre-orders for Garden Kits and Beach Grass! There are 8 different habitat-specific garden kits, that come with 38 plants and a landscape plan for a 4'x10' area. All you have to do it plant!

Speaking of which, fall is actually the best time for planting native plants! 🍂 Cooler temperatures and moisture give roots time to establish with less stress, setting plants up for a strong start next spring.

To learn more and order, please visit https://ottawacd.org/pre-orders/.

**Featuring garden pictures from some of our very own staff! It's hard to control ourselves when we host two native plant sales every year 😊**

Address

16731 Ferris Street
Grand Haven, MI
49417

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8am - 4:30pm

Telephone

(616) 842-5852

Website

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