Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve Education Opportunities

Saturdays with a Scientist

Fun, family -oriented sessions at the Preserve that are informative and interactive! And Aldea Coffee generously supplies free coffee - thank you Aldea!! Check the events calendar for dates and times.

School Programs

The Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve supports and provide environmental education opportunities for students studying wetlands and forest environmental issues. Since 2001 the Ron Brown Education Pavilion has served as an outdoor classroom for students and teachers from throughout the area, many from the Muskegon Area Intermediate School Districts.

From the pavilion, students and teachers can head out and explore the Preserve. During the spring season, hundreds of bird species pass through or nest, turtles lay their eggs, the water fills with invertebrates waiting to be discovered and the trees and flowers start a new year.

Teachers are invited to bring their classes to the the Preserve and the pavilion for an educational and fun field trip experience! Because times are limited, teachers are encouraged to reserve the pavilion. To make a reservation, please contact us by email or by messaging us on Facebook. There is no cost to reserve the pavilion.

Resources for Teachers

Grades K-5 Curriculum Guides for nature and environmental education with lessons/activities from Project Wild and Project Learning Tree keyed to the Michigan Academic Standards.

Developed by Muskegon area teachers with generous funding to MERES from the Alcoa Foundation and the Community Foundation Muskegon County.

Preserve-Based Activities to do at the MLNP or at Home

Enjoy these hands-on activities at home or when you visit the Preserve to enjoy and learn more about nature.

QR Code Project - School or Home-School Teachers!!

Help us expand our QR Code Trail at the Preserve! We currently have 9 QR Code stations located throughout the Preserve, but our goal is to establish at least 60 stations. Each station has a post with a specific QR Code attached to the top and that code is linked to our website. When scanned with a cell phone, information about a specific area or feature of the Preserve is sent to the phone.

To get started, please email us at muskegonlakenaturepreserve@gmail.com and then we will email you a copy of our species list of over 400 plants and animals. Once you have the list you and your students can pick a species to reseach at the Preserve and then write a short narrative on your findings.

Once the narrative is complete, it will be added to the Preserve website on the Points of Interest Page and a QR Code will be printed and added to a post in a designated area related to your report. Your class name will also be added to the published report on the website!