News and Announcements
Finding Fiddleheads: Fern Identification Hike Postponed
Due to forecasted thunderstorms this Saturday, we have decided to postpone the Finding Fiddleheads: Fern Identification Hike scheduled for this Saturday, June 29. We have rescheduled it for Saturday, July 6 from 10 am - Noon.
There are a few spots left for this hike. To reserve your spot, call (269) 721-4190.
Gala in the Garden Tickets are Now On Sale! The Gala is Saturday, July 27, 6-9 pm
This year, we're bringing the festivities indoors, offering breathtaking views from the Visitor Center. Enjoy an enchanted evening of delicious food, delightful drinks, and festive music at our annual fundraiser. Tickets are available here!
Sponsored in part by the Douglas A. & Margaret E. DeCamp Foundation, Commercial Bank, Highpoint Community Bank, and Burnham and Company.
Executive Director Michelle Skedgell Announces Retirement
Michelle Skedgell, Executive Director of Pierce Cedar Creek Institute since September 2001, has announced her plans to retire from the Institute as of December 31, 2024. Michelle joined the Institute shortly after its opening. The Institute is a nature center, an environmental education center, and a biological field station, a destination of learning, research, and natural resource management on 850 acres in rural Barry County. The Institute's founder, Bill Pierce, and his wife, Jessie, created the Institute to give back to the community that meant so much to them and provide a welcoming space for everyone to connect with the natural world.
Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, for Environmental Education
Set on 850 acres in rural Barry County, Michigan, Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, a mix between an environmental education center, nature center and biological field station, provides visitors opportunities for education, recreation, research and exposure to a blend of diverse habitats including wetlands, forests, marshes, streams, lakes, and prairies.
What's Happening at the Institute?
Environmental Education & Sustainable Land Management Initiatives
The Institute offers environmental education and sustainable land management programs to the community, instructing environmental stewards by communicating the core values of land conservancy, environmental responsibility and the pursuit of knowledge; provides scientific research grants and research partnerships with a consortium of area colleges and universities; and features over nine miles of hiking trails open to the public, free of charge, from dawn to dusk year-round.