Springfield Township

A Sundew Kind of Morning!

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WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

The Ice Age was coming to an end. Shuffling its 6-ton frame, a shaggy mastodon laboriously crossed a steep esker and trudged towards melt water from a giant block of ice left behind by the Pleistocene Era’s last local retreating glacier. The mastodons that once roamed Oakland County are now extinct, but the glacial evidence of nature’s land sculpting power is unmistakable in many sections of our county. Some of those sites, that once provided habitat for Mastodons, now harbor carnivorous flora and rare secretive creatures. One of those locations is within the Shiawassee Basin Preserve, a 600-acre site in northwestern Oakland County managed by Springfield Township Parks and Recreation. Continue reading →

I Am Not a Chipmunk!

Oakland County, MI Government 2 Comments

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

I was blissfully unaware of the existence of thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) living in Michigan, let alone in Oakland County, until a summer day ten years ago. On that day of discovery, I was wandering the Shiawassee Basin Nature Preserve in Springfield Township admiring wildflowers, dragonflies and butterflies in a small meadow. I was just a few hundred feet from the Springfield Township Civic Center when suddenly a small chipmunk-like creature popped up out of the ground in a field rich with clover, grasshoppers and bugs of all sorts. I managed one photo before its hyper-speed vanishing act commenced.

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Exploration of the Davisburg State Wildlife Area

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WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

Situational Awareness. That is the one item you must have with you before setting foot in the Davisburg State Wildlife Area. Never heard of this beautiful wildland gem in Springfield Township? Most people have not. If you are looking for a place with a trail system, signage, established parking lots, creature comforts, and other hikers, this is not the place for you. Want to get lost? This might be the place. The landscape has diverse terrain with rolling hills, abundant wetlands, including murky soils that can just about suck boots off your feet, an icy cold stream, a wooded swamp, a hidden lake and excellent habitat for our federally protected swamp rattler, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. And don’t forget patches of poison sumac at a face-slapping height and skin-scratching thorns. Continue reading →

Donate to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Coats for the Cold

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Four young girls bundled up in winter coats drinking hot chocolate.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is accepting donations for the 31st annual “Coats for the Cold” coat drive from November 1st to November 30th. Clean, gently-used or new coats can be dropped off at one of their drop-off sites around Oakland County. All Oakland County locations of Real Estate One HQ and Genisys Credit Union are drop-off sites. Additionally, donors will receive up to $50 off the cost of a pet adoption ($10 per donated coat, up to five coats) at the Oakland County Pet Adoption Center.

For a list of all drop-off sites, click the button below:

Coats for the Cold Drop-Off Sites

Donated coats will be sent to various local charitable organizations who distribute the coats to community members in need.

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Autumn Beauty on an Oakland County Trail

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A cement path winds down through a heavily wooded area. Foliage is turning from green to shades of yellow and orange. A deer stands near a tree and is almost hidden as its color blends in with the foliage around it.

As the leaves transition to shades of red, orange, and yellow, and the air gains a crisp autumn edge, there is no better time to venture along one of Oakland County’s many scenic trails. To find the best place to take a walk in nature, check out our list by clicking on the button below:

List of Nature Trails in Oakland County

You can also check out the Oakland County Trail Viewer, an interactive map developed by Oakland County’s award-winning GIS team. Each trail is marked using brown lines, while green icons represent parks. When a trail is selected, the map allows you to reference both its length and elevation. When users click on a park icon, its name, size, website, and other helpful information will appear.

From the paved paths at Groveland Oaks in Holly to the expansive trails at Waterford Oaks, you are sure to find the perfect nature trail for you using our list and interactive map.

Do you have a favorite trail in the Oakland County area? Let us know via Facebook or Twitter, by contacting us at socialmedia@oakgov.com, or leaving a comment below.

Visit the Oakland County website, and follow along us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest for more news and fun year round. Join the conversation using #OaklandCounty.