GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Monday, the Delta Conservation District launched its Annual Tree Fundraiser.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to buy your native trees and shrubs that are coming from locally sourced nurseries with a passion for conservation,” said Conservation District Manager Heather LeDuc.
In addition to usual favorites like apple trees, evergreens, and small fruits, this year’s fundraiser also features new offerings.
“We have the Honeoye strawberry, which is a deliciously sweet and small strawberry that grows really well in this area,” LeDuc said. “The one that I’m so excited about is the Chicago Hardy fig tree. A lot of people say, “Figs don’t grow in the U.P.,” but this one is zoned for colder climates, and it can grow well in pots too. It is a gorgeous tree with dark purple skin, a beautiful interior, and it’s a powerhouse of nutrition.”
The Tree Fundraiser is the District’s primary source of income, which keeps operations going and funds outreach programs.
“We are trying to raise money this year to do more boots-on-the-ground conservation, get out in the community more, and offer more outreach and conservation workshops,” said LeDuc. “We’d also like to start offering small stipends so that schools or different groups could receive mini grants to do conservation projects of their interest, like a pollinator garden or a composting project.”
LeDuc says planting native trees and shrubs also provides benefits for the environment.
“They keep on giving to the biodiversity of our area,” she explained. “They stabilize shorelines and stream banks, they filter out pollution from the water and from the air, they provide nutrition, and they’re shelters, windbreaks, critical food sources in the winter—and really all season long—for our critters that are out there.”
Delta County residents can order trees and shrubs in person via a catalog and kiosk at the Conservation District office, located at 2003 Minneapolis Avenue in Gladstone, or online at deltacd.org. Pickup will take place at the U.P. State Fairgrounds April 25 – 26.
