Friends of Dicken Woods General Assembly
Minutes of the Friends of Dicken Woods Meeting
Wednesday, October 20th 7:00pm
Attending Marlene Gates, Stephanie
Hunter, Tom Ivacko, Naela Jenkins, Theresa Leite, Deb Norbotten, Burt
Perry, Erik Stalhandske, Marian Williams, Doug Wood
Meeting opened at 7:05pm by President, Erik Stalhandske
Everyone introduced themselves and welcomed visitor, Marlene Gates.
Marlene lives in the area and is interested in helping by volunteering
to help maintain Dicken Woods.
The following areas were then discussed:
Budget-Erik stated that the Mayor received the ceremonial $50,000
check at the trails dedication ceremony and a real check as well. After
giving the city our donation, we have $1384.16 left in the bank. This
amount is before the grant program monies of $915 are removed. There is
another $500 donation pending and we still have donations trickling in
from other members of the group. The group discussed that option for
people to donate money for a specific purpose, rather than just to our
general fund. Among the few people there and the steering committee,
everyone felt this was an acceptable practice. Bob Palmer presented the
idea that we eventually gear fundraising efforts towards specific
programs, like the micro grant program. The group agreed that people
liked to know what purpose they were giving their money and once we had
some set programs in place, we could pursue this.
Dedication Ceremony-approximately 57 people were on hand to see us
give the Mayor a check for $50,000 on October 17th. The festivities
included a few words from Erik, Mary Anne Jaeger, and the Mayor. Other
city officials present included John Sattorino of the PAC, Ron Olson,
Margie Teall, and Marcia Higgins to name a few. After the check was
presented, the group went on a walk on the newly chipped trails and then
proceeded to the school for warm drinks and snacks. Unfortunately, the
Ann Arbor News did not attend for coverage; however, Erik is working on
getting some coverage after the fact.
Prioritizing Task List-The group discussed that as we move from
preservation to stewardship, we should as a group prioritize the tasks
that need to be done, or we feel we would like to do. The task list will
become available on the website soon and all members will have the
opportunity to vote on the items that are important to them. Once the
votes are in a few key people will work with NAP to help implement the
ideas they feel are appropriate. Watch the website for your chance to
vote!
Grants Program-Four teachers submitted proposals and we were able to
fund all four.
All 3 first grade teachers requested a guided tour of the woods next
spring. Dave Szczygiel of the AA Public Schools will be doing this.
Carol DeKeyzer, 2nd grade teacher, will also work with Dave on setting
up a trail camera to get photos of the wildlife; they will tour the
woods this fall, winter and next spring to photograph plants. Using the
Big 6 research method they will write research reports, compile a guide
book of plants that would be given to the school, and write poetry about
the woods. She requested a budget of $360 and the trail camera
purchased would become school property so that other teachers/staff may
use.
Theresa Erickson, art teacher, requested $380 to buy special supplies so
that the students can go out and sketch from life. The students will
use some special techniques for their work.
Leslie Lawther, 4th grade teacher, requested that Dody Wyman return as a
guest speaker for all the 4th graders to do her Raptor presentation. In
addition, they would review with Dody an appropriate location for a
screech owl house. Burt Perry has offered to build one for the
students.
We also discussed that Dave Szczygiel could possibly do a tour for the
kindergarten students. Their teacher asked about this after the
dedication ceremony. Tom Ivacko to follow up with her. Tom will also be
the coordinator of this program next year. Thanks Tom!
Annual Calendar-Erik talked about us choosing some activities that
will happen yearly and generally choosing a time of year for each to
occur. From the discussions, the following activities were chosen with
corresponding season.
- Buckthorn removal-fall/winter
- Wood chipping trails with Dicken Students-Spring
- Trail maintenance/Clean-Up-Spring(May or June) and Fall (Sept or Oct)
- Elections-June, staggered
- Yard Sale-Spring/Summer
- Ark Concert-? Fall
- Micro grants-Fall
- Wild seed collection-Fall
- Frog/Bird Count-Spring
- Lantern Walk-Winter (A nighttime walk through the woods with trails lit by lanterns made out of coffee cans)
- General letter to members for fundraising-To be
determined. A fundraising committee is now in place and consists of Erik
Stalhandske, Stephanie Hunter and Naela Jenkins. Anyone else interested
in joining please contact any of us.
- Electronic Newsletter-Twice yearly
The newsletter would be available to all members via the website. It
would include a calendar of upcoming events, columns about fundraising,
some info from Dicken, and any other fun and important info. Erik to
speak to Jack Eaton to complete. Currently, Erik, Naela, Stephanie, Deb,
Tom and possibly Mary Anne Jaeger to write short columns and submit to
Jack within two weeks, so that he can begin work on the first issue.
Meetings-Next meeting will be in January, date to be determined.
After this they will be bi-monthly. Watch the website for more
information.
Meeting closed at 8:30