Update

The following update was sent by email to all members of the Friends on Oct. 12:

Dear Friends of Dicken Woods,

Below is an update on the range of FoDW activities recently completed and currently underway, as well as a quick overview of plans for this year. This is a long message, because there is a lot going on at DW. You may not realize this, but FoDW has become one of the most active citizen/neighborhood groups in the city. We have the support of our city officials, from Mayor Hieftje and our City Council Representatives Margie Teall and Marcia Higgins, to the members of the City's Natural Area Preservation Division, and others.

We started out as a group which had to fight tooth-and-nail to be taken seriously, when we were accused of being selfish NIMBY (not in my backyard) homeowners. In the process of saving DW, we made pledges that we weren't the typical NIMBY fly-by-night group. We pledged that if the city would help us save Dicken Woods, then we would do our part to make it worthwhile. So we have been working to make our corner of Ann Arbor a better place. Hopefully we are also changing the debate regarding how neighborhoods should have a voice in decisions that affect their future, and groups like ours can’t just be dismissed as NIMBYs.

We are very grateful for your continued support of these efforts.

RECENT EVENTS

Tadpole Pond Damage

In early September we found that a DTE subcontractor was clear cutting trees in Dicken Woods on the border of DW and the Dicken School property, in the lowland tadpole pond area. This area hosts a significant pond in the spring and early summer. By the time the damage was found, an area roughly 40' wide by 100' long had been cleared of all trees growing near the DTE power lines. Taking immediate action, FoDW members along with Dicken Principal Mary Anne Jaeger intervened to stop any further cutting until all affected parties could meet. Within days a meeting involving FoDW, Dicken School, and high level representatives from the city, the Ann Arbor Public Schools system, and DTE resolved the problem. DTE agreed to trim rather than clear cut trees. To be fair, we found that DTE was allowed to do the clear cutting due to "a series of unfortunate events" that produced contracts allowing such clear cutting.  We understand the city was grateful that we intervened and thereby prevented such damage in other areas of the city.

Since that meeting FoDW has begun plans to mitigate the damage, primarily by planting wetland-appropriate bushes and shrubs in the area. We are extremely grateful to both Abbott's Nursery and Lodi Farms Nursery, both of whom have offered to donate bushes for our efforts.

Boardwalk Construction

Another major recent development was the planning and construction of a 40' boardwalk on the lowland path that runs between Carol and Dicken Drives. Planned and organized by Eagle-scout candidate Donald McNair, the boardwalk was constructed by the efforts of Donald, his family, friends and fellow scouts, and members of FoDW. This was a large undertaking, and it couldn’t have been done without our own Doug Wood who was critical to the successful completion of the project. Replacing the temporary "corduroy log bridge," the new boardwalk will make it much easier to traverse that part of DW, especially in the wet months.

3rd Annual Garage Sale Fundraiser

Back in June Brian Cressman and Amanda Humphrey hosted our 3rd annual garage sale fundraiser, raising roughly $870. The sale requires an awful lot of work, and a small handful of FoDW members pulled it off this year. The funds are critical to our plans for the coming year, especially the school grant program, as outlined below. Many thanks to Brian and Amanda, and the other volunteers, especially Naela Jenkins, Debbie Johnson, Stephanie Hunter, and Deb Norbotten.

Other In-the-Woods Improvements

If you have walked through or driven past DW lately, you probably noticed the 4 new park signs installed by the city. DW looks official now! Other in-the-woods work has continued, including preparation of an area to serve as a future wildlfower bed, from which we will grow wildflowers, gather their seeds, and spread them through other parts of DW. Other recent work includes mulch spreading, brush trimming, removing a 4' high fiberglass drinking fountain in the shape of a lion’s head that appeared on the west trail loop (huh?), chip spreading on the trails, removal of Dames Rocket (an invasive plant), a major overhaul of the Carol Drive entrance to DW, and removal of trash from both the perimeter and interior of DW.

PLANS FOR THE COMING YEAR

2nd Annual Dicken School Grants Program

FoDW is currently working with Dicken School teachers and administration on the 2nd annual grant program, which is designed to help integrate DW into the school experience and the environmental education curriculum. Last year we awarded almost $1,000 for 4 outstanding grants, and we plan to make up to $1,000 in grants again this year. The grant program, which turns DW into a backyard educational resource for hundreds of students, helps us fulfill our promise to make the preservation of DW worthwhile. And in a time of significant budget cuts to the schools and parks systems, making such use of DW is a creative and cost-effective way to enhance education.

A Fall Celebration

On Sunday November 6 from 2:00-3:00 we will have a Fall Celebration. We'll take a very short walk through the part of DW closest to the school, cross over the new boardwalk, and see some of our early efforts to repair the damage in the tadpole pond area. Then we'll return to Dicken School for cider and donuts. We'll also present this year's grants to Dicken, and recognize Donald McNair for his work on the boardwalk.

A Long-term Plan for DW

FoDW is in the early stages of creating a long-term master plan for the future of DW. The plan will provide our vision for what we expect DW to look like 5 years from now. When a first draft is ready we will post it on the website and ask for your comments. We'll then focus one of our general membership meetings on a presentation and review of the plan. After any necessary modifications we'll put the plan to a vote to adopt it as our official planning tool. We expect it will be a living document, to be modified and updated as we continue to work on DW.

In-the-Woods Activities

The autumn Sunday afternoon mini-workdays will be focused on a variety of activities, from adding more chips on the trails, to improving the tadpole pond area, removing buckthorn, improving the other existing "corduroy" bridges, improving the perimeter of DW, and more. These activities are open to all of us, and are tailored to people who either participate regularly or only occasionally. We are particularly excited to note that we have already developed relationships with local cub scout and girl scout troops to help us with maintenance and improvement projects, and are seeking other organizations and individuals as partners for similar annual or one-time projects.

2nd Annual Mid-Winter Candlelight Walk

If you missed it last year, don't miss it this year! Over 200 students, parents, grandparents, teachers, neighbors, Friends, and others joined us last year on a beautiful winter evening for an enchanting walk through DW, with the trails glowing by candlelight in luminaries made by the Dicken students. Folks then gathered for hot chocolate and treats back in the school. Lots of the kids went back out for a 2nd walk through the woods. It was a special evening, and we're really looking forward to this year’s walk. We’ll pick the date later.

4th Annual Spring Clean-up Day

Later in the Spring we'll host the 4th annual spring cleanup day, a morning effort to spruce up DW, remove trash, chip the trails, and so on. We’ve had some of the biggest volunteer workday turnouts in the city, so come and join the fun.

A FINAL NOTE – OUR BUDGET

We currently have $1,500 in our bank account. We expect to provide $1,000 to Dicken classrooms this fall, leaving us with only $500 in the bank, which by our policy should remain as rainy day funds.

We will need to raise new funds for next year's grant program, and for minor miscellaneous expenses such as purchasing additional flowers and bushes to beautify areas of DW. We are an official non-profit organization, so we can accept tax deductible donations. We would be incredibly grateful for donations from the FoDW general membership, and any amount, $10, $20, $50, etc., would help. We have approximately 125 households that make up the membership of FoDW. If just 50 of those households donated $20 each, we could be done with our fundraising for the year. The Steering Committee members would very much prefer to spend time improving the woods rather than raising funds through time-intensive activities. Please consider making a donation. Contact Tom Ivacko (tmi@umich.edu or 741-9484), or use the pledge form on our website: http://dickenwoods.org/thefriends/pledgeform.shtml. Although unrestricted donations would be ideal, we would also be thrilled to receive donations earmarked for the school grant program or other specific uses (e.g., park plantings).

Thank you for your interest in Dicken Woods!

-The FoDW Steering Committee