celery pond

This picture, taken in late September, shows the area which is a natural overlook to Celery Pond.  This is part of the City land, running down from Conger and Prospect Street with its lengthy right of way land.  The City parcel starts at about this point of view and goes out into the wetland.

In the City’s Abonmarche plan which was approved by the Council in 2006, a boardwalk was drawn across the wetland to this point to connect walkers and bikers to the Kal Haven trail.

In Phase 1 of the CPA plan we will seek to establish the overlook platform with appropriate signage here.

In Phase 2 of the CPA plan we will seek to re-introduce the boardwalk idea.

There’s much work ahead to plan the engineering of this spot but it’s a project that will benefit everyone.  Not only will it give the public a wonderful vista of Celery Pond, it will be a spot for educating us all about the wetland and its wildlife.

With the leaves and cattails changing colors, you might enjoy walking or biking to this area.  It’s always a treat in the evening when the birds fly into the pond as a stop-over point after a day of flying around the neighborhood.

Celery Pond Advocates are having another remarkable year.  Along with a successful fundraiser in August, we are setting up our new website http://www.Celery Pond Advocates.org/ which will link to the blog and Facebook.

We recently presented the Prospect Street Wetland Overlook plan to the Parks Department, who unanimously recommended it to the Council.  As there are many details to pull together for this site, we anticipate the Council meeting will be in the spring.

We invite you to join the CPA family with your membership.  The objective of our first project is to blend education, nature and art.  We’re excited  about it and hope you will be too.

Choose a membership level from one of the below categories.  Your check can be made out to Celery Pond Advocates.  Our address is: Celery Pond Advocates, P.O. Box 241, South Haven, MI 49090.  Be sure to include your address, email and telephone number for our records.

• $10 Student/Senior
• $15 Individual
• $30 Couple/Family
• $100+ Big Advocate
• $200+ Super Advocate

Next year we’ll submitting a park design for Black River Linear Park B to the appropriate city officials, along with hoping to break ground on the Wetland Overlook.

Sunday was the St. Francis of Assisi Festival day.  It was a full moon too.  Today’s post is in honor of this great man.

Rather than watching the sunset at the beach last night,  I headed over to Celery Pond, intent on using a film camera loaned to me.  I’d forgotten how active and exciting it is to use film:  you become one with the action you’re trying to capture.  It’s not just a matter of just pressing a button like our electronic toys.

Focusing on the reflective beauty of the wetland and bordering forests was soothing.  But it was a challenge to capture the ducks and song birds sweeping into the Pond.

Countless formations of geese were calling out.  Impossible to know where they were in the twilight, they’d suddenly appear, arcing overhead for a second, before sweeping into the Pond.

Close to 100 birds had gathered together in the Pond’s waters which are more expansive from the storms.  Songs cut through the cool crisp air, sounding as if each one was having fun.  It was a big pow-wow.

The finale came when looking up, a dome of translucent blue sky was shot through with shafts of magenta light.  I breathed in the clean air and light of Celery Pond’s embracing ecosystem - a remarkable testament of the wonder of life.

How lucky we are to have Celery Pond!  Why not go down to the Pond and look at the proposed overlook spot.

You’ll find it if you go down Broadway headed towards the bridge from Phoenix, turn right at the bend of Broadway - Conger Street - and follow Conger up to the corner to where the Animal Hospital is located.  Conger intersects Prospect Street.  To your left is the area for the proposed space shown in the design on the previous blog entry.

From dawn to dusk, the overlook site is a place to enjoy.

Dawn at Celery Pond as it looked a couple weeks ago.

And on another day, the sun was getting ready to go down - and Celery Pond was aglow with a rosy light  — a very peaceful place to be at day’s end.

Last night we presented the CPA plan for Prospect Street’s Wetland Overlook to the Parks Department who voted to recommend it to the Council.  The design is below.  Details of the proposal are noted.

Moving from left to right,  the circular area with yellow border is where the sculpture by Marian Anderson would be placed, surrounded by a border of yellow native plants.  Benches and picnic tables would be positioned in the grassy area nearby.

A natural trail leads from the sculpture towards the octagonal/round overlook platform.  Signage will give visitors information on how a functioning wetland improves water quality, provides wildlife habitat and insures spawning areas for fish.  Other pertinent information on the ecosystem - from plant to bird life will also be noted.

From the overlook will be a viewing into a pond area where fish pool and native plants will be planted nearby.

A wetland perimeter trail is shown going into the wooded area, for birdwatchers and all to enjoy the serenity of the area.  These include details of Phase 1 of the CPA gift.

In Phase 2 we would recommend that a boardwalk be installed, curving with the lines of the wetland edges, leading all into and across the wetland.  This would link this new park to the linear Black River parks, the Kal-Haven bike trail and the downtown.

To all the members and supporters of Celery Pond, just a note that tomorrow night, September 22nd at 6pm, CPA will be introducing the idea of a wetland overlook park to the Parks Department.  The proposal for a new park space off Prospect Street, discussed during the August 28th fundraiser, will be elaborated upon, with a formal drawing of the plan included.

As the blog site is being revised by blog.com, there still isn’t full ability to post pictures…but we’ll try to link it to Facebook for more info.

There will be a CPA members meeting on Tuesday, September 15th, at 6pm.  We’ll convene at the South Haven Memorial Library located at 314 Broadway in South Haven, MI.

We have a full agenda to discuss and hope that old and new signing-in members can be there.

We’ll also give an update on the discussion at the recent Two Rivers Coalition meeting.   We thank everyone in that group for making our presentation possible.

The agenda for the September 9th, 2009, meeting of the Two Rivers Coalition includes a presentation by the Celery Pond Advocates.  This invitation is extended to all members and interested parties.

As president of the group, I’ll update the Two Rivers members on what efforts CPA is involved in at present to preserve the Black River watershed wetland - Celery Pond - in South Haven.

The meeting starts at 7pm and will be held at the Geneva Township Hall, 62127 CR 380, Bangor, MI.

For more info check the site, www.TwoRiversCoaltion.org

In one of the most intriguing events at City Hall to date, a special Council meeting convened last night in a round table discussion.  Along with all Council members present were the Parks Commissioners, the Harbor Commissioners and the public.  All were invited to comment on the proposed Steelheaders efforts to seek Great Lakes Fisheries grant monies for a steelwall and ten and a half foot cement walkway on the edge of the new linear park area (behind the old DPW building off Dunkley Avenue).

This unique event was a cohesive way to determine how to proceed.  It was finally decided to postpone such a push effort to reach a grant application on September 8th in order to explore other possible grant sources as well as asking the whole community to begin to share a vision of what might be in this new space of green.

The Celery Pond Advocates presented 8 slides of power point pictures to show what we’d recommend.  One major recommendation was to keep the floodplain open and with the present green space available on the site.

We strongly urged Council and the Commissioners to consider a more natural encasement or a lower stone encasement for the riverfront along with a natural gravel path - which would still qualify for handicap accessible requirements.

The resolution of Councilwoman, Suzie Fitzgibbon, appealed to both the Steelheaders and Celery Pond Advocates to work together to come forward with alternative ideas.  The resolution was seconded and approved.  It was suggested that along with this collaborative effort, the whole community be invited to come forward to create a community planning process while working with all present in the round table officials.

What a dynamic and new way for us to explore what community living can be.  We applaud all parties for another segue of action and involvement.

There will be a special City Council meeting this Monday, August 31st, at 6pm at City Hall.  The subject is whether or not the City should apply for a seawall grant from the Great Lakes Fisheries to meet the September 8th, 2009 deadline.

Debate will be open to the public, the Harbor Commissioners and Parks Commissioners to allow Council to gather more input on what is appropriate action.

About one month ago (July 20th) this idea was informally introduced in a council workshop by the Steelheaders, a local nonprofit group. The seawall grant proposal was on the Council program on August 17th.  In a deadlock vote, with one council person absent, it was decided to seek more input.

Please come and let your voice be heard.  Should a rigid seawall be sought or a curved stone wall embankment or should other such ideas be pursued?  Should we work together to develop a plan for this new linear park?  Or should the grant be sought and then look at these issues?

Celery Pond Advocates would recommend keeping the green space and more natural shoreline so that the floodplains can operate as best they can.  There is general consensus among the group that more time is needed to coordinate all the needs and issues of the new layout of the linear park - we’d like to contribute ideas as a conservancy working with the Parks Department.

Monday, August 31st, 6pm….come with your ideas or email your council delegate.