City of Lansing Parks 2018

The City of Lansing Parks in Michigan manages over 100 parks and 20 miles of riverside trails. The Grand and Red Cedar rivers and Sycamore Creek flow through Lansing and many of these parks and trails provide access to these waterways. The park system also protects many acres of floodplains and wetlands, which serve as a buffer for the waterways and habitat for wildlife. The city’s parks and trails are frequently enjoyed by both Lansing residents and by visitors. The primary impacts include litter, which affects wildlife and visitors’ experiences, and vegetation damage and erosion, resulting from off-trail travel.

During this Hot Spot, we helped protect 20 miles of riverside trails, facilitated 67 volunteer hours, and removed 200 pounds of trash.

Solution

The Leave No Trace team spent the week working with City of Lansing Parks staff and local stakeholders to help spread Leave No Trace education and help visitors to understand and prevent the ecological and social impacts in the parks. While in Lansing, the team hosted a general Leave No Trace skills and ethics workshop for the public. Many of the participants represented several local stakeholder groups and voiced wanting to share their new knowledge in their work and volunteer roles. As a part of this workshop the team was able to teach participants the Authority of the Resource technique. This technique will help participants share these skills in a way that will help prevent future impact in City of Lansing Parks. As a part of the week’s events the team also worked with local stakeholders and volunteers for a three-hour cleanup of Moores Park and the adjoining section of the Lansing River Trail.