Topics This Month -

• Fall Native Plant Fundraiser // Plants & Pints Festival

• JCCD Scrap Tire Collection 2026 - A call for volunteers!

• September Household Hazardous Waste Collection

• September Adopt-A-Highway

• Haehnle Sanctuary Monthly Workdays

• Invasive Species Spotlight - Newly Discovered in Jackson County by the JLW CISMA - Mile-a-minute Weed

• Spring Native Tree and Shrub Suggestions - Your chance to suggest trees to include in the spring fundraiser!

• …and more!!

Upcoming Events -

• August 8th - Birds, Blooms & Butterflies Festival 2026, more information on the Dahlem Center website here!

• August 22nd - Free Native Plant Informational Workshop, at the Grow Jackson Farm Stop / Old Armory, at 137 W North St, Jackson, MI 49202, from 12:00pm to 1:30pm!

• September 2nd - Mushroom Workshop 102, at the Cafeteria, 414 Washington St, Chelsea, MI, from 6pm to 8pm, RSVP here, email me if you have any questions!

• September 5th - Recycling Jackson, 1401 N Brown Street, open from 9am to 1pm. Visit their Facebook or website for more information.

• September 19th - JCCD Scrap Tire Collection, in the Infield of the Jackson County Fair / Keeley Park (enter through the North-most gate on Blackstone), from 9am until both trailers are full! 10 passenger sized tires per visit limit, NO RIMS - volunteers wanted, more information below!

• September 22nd - Adopt-A-Highway, meet at the JCCD office on 211 W Ganson St, Jackson MI 49201 at 9:00am, collecting from 10:00am to ~12:00pm, email me if interested in volunteering, more information below!

• September 24th - Household Hazardous Waste Collection #3, at the Jackson County DOT Lot on Chanter Road, from 1pm to 6pm, RSVP here, email me if interested in volunteering, more information below!

• September 26th - Plants & Pints Festival, at the Grow Jackson Farm Stop / Old Armory, at 137 W North St, Jackson, MI 49202, more information to come in late-August!

• Each Friday in August - Grand River Farmers Market, in the Grand River Brewery Parking lot, from 9am to 2pm.

• Each Saturday in August - Grand River Farmers Market, at the River & Rail Food Hub, 137 W North St, from 9am to 2pm.

• Keep an eye on our events page on our website for the most up-to-date information!

We are still accepting orders for the Fall Native Plant Fundraiser!!

To purchase from a wide selection of native plants, head to - www.jacksoncd.org/plant-fundraiser/fall-plant-sale

We are partnering with BirtleBee, a native plant nursery out of Concord, to provide you low-cost native plants. A portion of the proceeds will go directly to the JCCD for general operational funds, just like our Spring Tree Fundraisers!

During this year’s Spring Tree Fundraiser, we had ~20 native plant species available. Now, this year we have over 60!! If you purchase from our website, you will be able to pick up your plants at the Plants & Pints festival at the Grow Jackson Farm Stop / Old Armory on September 26th, at 137 W North St, Jackson, MI 49202.

Also, mark your calendars for a FREE NATIVE PLANT INFORMATIONAL WORKSHOP which will be held on Saturday, August 22nd from 12:00pm to 1:30pm at the Grow Jackson Farm Stop / Old Armory, at 137 W North St, Jackson, MI 49202.

Thank you to both BirtleBee and Grow Jackson for partnering with us for this Fall Plant Fundraiser and Plants & Pints festival! More on Plants & Pints as we get closer to September!

To any interested volunteers / those who may know interested volunteers:

The Jackson County Conservation District holds an annual scrap tire collection for the residents of Jackson County. We’ve finally settled on a date this year, September 19th, and NEED help for this event. We recieve two trailers that can hold ~3000 tires each and typically fill up before noon. We’ve reached out to local football teams, boy scout troops and more without much luck. We hope to have at least 5-10 volunteers for this event to run as smooth as possible.

We are not accepting rims this year to ease the workload on our volunteers. It is still tough and dirty work! See the picture of some volunteers from a few years ago, above.

If you know anyone who would be willing to get their hands (and clothes) dirty to assist us with this event, please contact me. Anyone who attends will be provided snacks, drinks, a free lunch and our gratitude!

For information on the event:

JCCD will collect passenger sized tires at the Jackson County Fairgrounds (Keeley Park). Enter using the North-most Blackstone gate.

Each person may bring up to 10 RIMLESS tires at a time, if you have more than 10 tires you must go through the line multiple times to unload all of your tires.

Must be a Jackson County resident.‍ ‍NO OVER-SIZED OR TRACTOR TIRES, NO RIMS AND NO BUSINESSES!

PLEASE USE THE BLACKSTONE ENTRANCE. LOOK FOR THE YELLOW FLAG!

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our July Adopt-a-Highway event due to the weather - please see below for our next Adopt-a-Highway date!

JCCD Staff and Volunteers will clean up the stretch of M-50 between Wells Rd. and Napoleon Rd. in Napoleon immediately following our September Board Meeting on Tuesday, September 22nd!

Interested volunteers are welcome to attend our Board Meeting at 8am or meet us at the office on 211 W Ganson St, Jackson, MI 49201 at 9:00am to carpool / drive to the site following a safety meeting.

Lunch to follow for all of those who participate at the Napoleon Cafe.

If you are interested in volunteering, please let me know by emailing colten@macd.org.

The Jackson County Conservation District will hold a Household Hazardous Waste Collection on Thursday, September 24th, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.! The collection will be held at the Jackson County DOT in the lot on the corner of N. Elm and Chanter (next to the County Jail). PLEASE USE THE CHANTER RD ENTRANCE.

This event is for JACKSON COUNTY RESIDENTS ONLY (proof of residency is required)!

NO BUSINESS WASTE!

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED!! Participants must sign up for an available appointment slot to attend the event. Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up.

The cost is $20/vehicle (Please cash or a check made out to "JCCD"). We can accept card but there will be a $2.00 processing fee. There may be additional fees for large volumes of fluids (>50 gallons). 

Latex paint WILL be accepted at this collection. Thank you to our partners at Recycling Jackson for making this possible.

Tires, electronic waste, radioactive materials and explosives WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED! 

This collection has been made possible thanks to funding provided by Jackson County. For more information email colten@macd.org. If you are interested in volunteering, click here!

Click here for a list of accepted items!

***CLICK HERE TO RSVP!!***

***As a quick note, we’ve moved away from Signup Genius as a platform to RSVP - recently, Signup Genius has intensified advertising on its site, spamming those who sign up with emails and egregious advertising. We are not a fan of that practice and have switched to a new sign-up platform, Zeffy! It is 100% run by donations, so you’ll never get advertisements or spammed with emails. It will ask for a donation to sign up, but please know you do NOT have to donate to the site to keep it free!!***

Monthly workdays continue in support of habitat restoration and general maintenance. These are scheduled for the 3rd Thursday of each month. Chad Machinski from Michigan Audubon and Steve Jerant from Jackson Audubon will lead the work. Volunteers can assist from 9am to 12pm in the warm seasons and 1pm to 4pm in the cool seasons. Tools and materials are provided. Wear sturdy work boots.

Registration is required so we are able to plan work type and location in the sanctuary. To register for the upcoming workday on August 20th, from 9am to 12pm, email jacksonaudubon@gmail.com.

Haehnle is located at the intersection of Seymour Rd & Fairlane Dr, Grass Lake. Meet at the Wing Overlook kiosk on Seymour Road.

Habitat: This herbaceous, annual, trailing vine colonizes open and disturbed areas with a preference for very wet soil. Typical infestation areas include stream banks, open space, roadsides, forest edges, and fence lines. Mile-a-minute weed thrives with abundant sunlight and uses its recurved barbs to attach to and climb over other plants.

Native Range: India to Eastern Asia, China and islands from Japan to the Philippines

U.S. Distribution: Reported in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington.

Michigan Distribution: Identified in Calhoun County (and newly discovered in Jackson County by our very own, Shikha Singh!)

Michigan Status: Mile-a-minute weed is on Michigan’s watch list.

Local Concern: Mile-a-minute weed can grow up to 25’ in six to eight weeks. Dense, prickly thickets overtake native vegetation. Christmas tree farms, orchards, reforestation and restoration areas are at risk because of the vine’s propensity to smother tree and plant seedlings. Seeds may survive in the soil for up to six years.

Means of Introduction or Spread: Each fruit contains a single seed, and vines can produce up to 3,500 seeds per year. Fruits are eaten by birds, deer and small mammals which can spread seeds miles away from the original plant.

Control: As an annual, mile-a-minute weed can be controlled by regular tilling or mowing to prevent flowering or seeding. Young and mature plants can be removed manually before fruits ripen. Double bag all plant material and allow to decompose in sunlight for several days before removing waste to a landfill or incinerator. Infested areas should be monitored regularly for regrowth. For more information, see the Michigan Species Profile for Mile-a-minute Weed.

Photo courtesy of Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org.

If you find mile-a-minute weed in Michigan, note the location and take photos to aid in verification. Report your find to:

• Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, MDA-Info@Michigan.gov.

• Or - the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN) online reporting tool.

• Or - download the MISIN smartphone app and report from your phone.

Check out these sites to learn more about invasive species:

• Michigan Invasive Species Program

• MISIN

If you have a smartphone, download the MISIN (Midwest Invasive Species Information Network) App. This will allow you to learn about invasive species and report them on your phone. 

If you have any questions about invasive species, contact the JLW CISMA Coordinator Shikha Singh via email (shikha.singh@macd.org) or call the office at 517-395-2089. Don't forget to check out the official JLW CISMA website here.

Click here to sign up for the JLW CISMA monthly newsletter.

Each year we offer high quality, low-cost native trees and plants at our Spring Native Tree & Plant Fundraiser.

We’ve already secured our fruit trees for the year but want to hear from you regarding other native trees and shrubs! Last year we added the Dawn Redwood (which I plan to bring back again) and the Lilac, with both selling out! I’m planning to add Catalpa this year… I’ve also had quite a few requests for redbuds to return to the fundraiser this upcoming spring. If you have any other requests, please send them to colten@macd.org.

I plan to put in our order at the end of this week so get your suggestions to us ASAP!! If I have multiple requests of the same tree, I’ll make sure to add it to our catalog for this year!

Soil testing information can help you develop a proper fertilization strategy and prevent over-fertilizing. Test results will include lab recommendations and consultation with JCCD staff, if needed, to answer questions you may have.

Soil sample materials and information are available at the district office at 211 West Ganson Street, Suite 200 in Jackson. The cost is $25/sample for one to four samples or $20/sample for 5 samples or more. Free soil probe rental is also available by appointment.

Contact Joselyn via email at joselyn.ralph@macd.org or call 517-395-2082 with questions. You can also visit our website or Facebook page for more information about the Conservation District. 

Michigan's Hunting Access Program (HAP) was originally created in 1977 to increase public hunting opportunities in southern Michigan where 97 percent of the land base is privately owned. It has now expanded to include the Northeast Lower and Eastern Upper Peninsulas. HAP is one of the oldest dedicated private lands public access programs in the nation.  

HAP provides access to quality private hunting lands with a focus on agricultural regions and disease management areas. Providing more hunting opportunities is critical for attracting new and retaining current hunters and supporting Michigan’s strong hunting tradition. Click here to find a list and maps of HAP properties around the state.

HAP provides financial incentives to private landowners who allow hunters access to their lands. Using funds from a USDA/VPA-HIP federal grant, the DNR has significantly expanded the number of acres and properties available within the HAP program.  Click here if you are interested in finding out more information on how to enroll your land in the Hunting Access Program.

The Jackson County Conservation District participates in HAP, if you are interested in learning more about the property, please email colten@macd.org.

This information was taken directly from the Michigan.gov website. 

Recycling Jackson provides recycling drop-off on the first Saturday of every month from 9 am-1 pm. They are located one block behind Home Depot next to the Jackson Public Schools Bus Garage at 1401 N Brown St. Find out more information on their Facebook page or website.

See this Facebook post for further details and materials they do not accept.

Plantskydd is a 100% all-natural animal repellent for use around your trees, shrubs, garden, or farm. The active ingredient is blood (recognized by the EPA as a safe ingredient exempt from pesticide registration).

How does it work? Plantskydd repels by emitting an odor that browsing animals, such as deer and rabbits, associate with predator activity. The odor is not unpleasant to applicators or planters.

Is it safe? Plantskydd contains no synthetic additives, is non-toxic, and is not harmful to animals or the environment when used as directed. 

Powder Concentrate  
1.1 pound - $32
2.2 pounds - $53

Pre-mixed
1 quart - $23
1.3 gallons - $64

Granular
3-pound shaker jug - $33

Mosquito Barrier is effective against mosquitoes, ticks, and black flies. It is safe for humans, plants, and pets and lasts up to a month with each application. The effective ingredient is garlic, and the odor dissipates immediately after application. 

Mosquito Barrier - currently out of stock - we put in an order for more with expected delivery at the end of August!
1 quart - $26.50 (covers 1.25 ac.)
1 gallon - $82 (covers 5 ac.)

Please call 517-395-2082 or email colten@macd.org to schedule an appointment to purchase and pick up your Plantskydd or Mosquito Barrier!

Check out our website and Facebook to stay up to date with our latest news and events!!