Special to Hometown Gazette
ALAMO — Pushing his way through the underbrush and autumn olive branches at the Leon Stone Nature Center behind Alamo Elementary School, Jack Seelye, an Otsego High School freshman, recalls what the nature center was like when he was a student at the elementary school.
Back then, he was a Cub Scout, and his pack would go there to learn about the different plants and pick up trash to keep it clean, he said.
“There were more flowers and trees here then,” he said. “Not many people come back here anymore.”
The paths are overgrown, and invasive species such as the autumn olive have taken over some areas.
But now, as a Boy Scout, Seelye has embarked upon a four-year plan to bring the nature center back to what it was intended to be when it was established in 1994, when Alamo School received a $750 grant for the project.
The work will help him earn his Eagle Scout rank and possibly Scouting’s Hornaday Award, which is given for conservation and environmental projects.
The first part of the plan is to remove the invasive species, a task he has started with the help of his father, Bart Seelye, who is assistant scoutmaster for Troop 292. Those species include autumn olive, multifloral rose, European cranberry and garlic mustard.
Ironically, those are the plants the Department of Natural Resources recommended for the site, Bart said.
“The DNR was pushing these plants,” Bart said. “The problem is they push everything else out and crowd everything out and make too much shade.”
As they cut down the invasive species, they’re putting the brush into piles to create animal habitats, Jack said. They also are creating rock piles as habitats.
A second part of the plan is to put in new trees that are native to Michigan, Jack said, noting that they’ve already started growing some of the trees at their house for eventual planting at the site. Those species include chestnut, hickory, black walnut and hazelnut.
Last spring, Jack and his fellow Scouts built 10 birdhouses and installed them in the nature center. At least eight of them were occupied during the summer, he says.
One problem at the site which Jack is exploring is how to deal with the dry soil and what to do to make it more fertile for plants to grow.
“An irrigation system is too costly,” he said. “I’ve talked to some people at the Kellogg Forest, and they’ve given me some ideas about what to do to make the soil better.”
Added Bart Seelye, “It’s so dry in the summer, and there’s no one here. We need to put something in the soil to make it hold water.”
Several of the plants and trees in the nature area have plaques identifying the species and where the plants came from. For example, there is a honey locust from the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. However, some of the signs have been damaged, and Jack wants to replace those with new signs and posts.
Outside the entrance to the area, Jack plans to create a new welcome sign and an information kiosk.
When Jack started the project by mapping the whole area, he admits to feeling some discouragement.
“I thought, ‘This is never going to happen,’” he said. “But then we came to cut down trees and it went so fast. I know it’s going to be hard along the way.”
In addition to working on the nature center project, Jack is an all-A student, plays in the band’s drumline, plays tennis and is on the swim team.
But despite all the work and other responsibilities, Jack has a vision for the site’s future.
“It’s going to have every tree you can think of that grows here,” he said. “There will be flowers, butterflies, hummingbirds and birds in the trees. Kids will be walking all around and enjoying it like I did.”