Hudsonville Prairie Tour

Hudsonville Prairie Tour
Monday, July 21 • 6:30–8:30 pm (ET)

Hudsonville Nature Center Prairie
2700 New Holland St, Hudsonville, MI 49426

The Nature Center is located at the East end of New Holland Street. Park in the small lot or along the street.

Public Welcome • Family-Friendly • Free Event 
Nature Walk/Hike • Lots of Physical Activity

Naturalist and photographer, Craig Elston will lead a hike through Hudsonville Nature Center’s Prairie. 

On this field trip we will identify flowering plants and grasses of the Tall Grass Prairie. Information on the history of prairies, the ecosystem, past and present inhabitants and management will also be covered. Plants that make good additions to the garden will also be pointed out. 

Long pants and closed-toed shoes are recommended to fully experience the prairie. Bring a water bottle and insect spray.

^{Above photos are from the prairie tour in August 2022}

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Biography: As a Michigan native, Craig Elston has always been interested in nature from his youth on his grandparent’s farm through the present. It was at a young age on the farm that he became interested in and began to raise butterflies. He has also always been interested in growing plants and has had a great interest in native plants for most of his adult life. He has been leading interpretive hikes at the Hudsonville Nature Center since the mid 1990s. He has also led walks and presented lectures or slide programs at other nature centers, including Hoffmaster State Park’s Gillette Visitor Center, Frederik Meijer Gardens, the Michigan Botanical Society, various events for MSU County Extensions in West Michigan and other garden clubs or nature organizations. As a member of the Hudsonville Parks and Grounds committee from 1988, and the Naturalist for the City since 2001, he was involved in planting a Tall Grass Prairie in the Nature Center. He has earned the Advanced Master Gardener certification from Ottawa County. In 2003, he was privileged to be a part of the Kent County MSU Extension’s Master Naturalist program from its inception, developing and writing the Prairie Environments segment which is now a four-and-a-half-hour class with time both indoors and in the field for first hand personal experience. His interest in Michigan’s native flora is not just observation and photographing, but propagation and cultivation of these marvelous gems. He finds it exciting to not only learn about these habitats and their inhabitants, but also to share with others who are interested and willing to listen. Finding species that are new to him or rare species is always exciting. 

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