Nature area planned for donated land

GRAWN -- Elmer Schmuckal envisions a natural area where local school kids can get hands-on lessons about trees, bugs, soil and other aspects of the natural world.

Today, the lifelong Blair Township resident and his wife Rose will attend a ceremony with township officials that symbolizes a first step in turning that vision into reality.

Schmuckal, 91, donated roughly three acres along M-37 to the township in 2004, and officials constructed a new sewer pump station on the property in 2006.

Work on the $14,000 facility is complete, and the township's focus has shifted to designating the remaining land as a peaceful place where the public can learn about Michigan's natural resources.

"My idea was to have the classes and such out there related to forest life and different training for wild trees and bugs. There are all kinds of soils down there," said Schmuckal, who first moved to the property with his parents in 1937. "There are a lot of kids that don't get a chance to see nature like this; that's why I asked to have the Blair Township schools involved.

"Being we lived in Blair Township all our lives, it's a way to give something back," he said.

Blair Township Supervisor Marilyn Fleis said today's 4 p.m. ceremony at the site, located about a half-mile south of Chum's Corner near the bridge on M-37, will be in addition to a 2004 plaque that honors the Schmuckals.

"The dedication ceremony will mark the beginning of a trial project and will be a formal thank-you to Elmer and Rose Schmuckal for donating the property," Fleis said. "It is beautiful in the fall. It's one of the better color spots to look at when you go over the bridge."

Fleis said a township maintenance official likely will employ county jail inmate workers next month to help construct trails through dense maples and hemlocks and down a hill to Beitner Creek.

Township officials also hope to work with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to add an educational element to the serene setting.

"We are just beginning work on the trail; we are going to identify the trees and make it interesting and educational for the people, residents and school children," Fleis said. "It will be like a hiking trail. Just be a nice place for people to go to relax and enjoy nature."

Schmuckal farmed in Blair Township his entire life and said he hopes those who walk the trails will enjoy the land as much as he has.

"I was always interested in farmland and marshland," he said. "A lot of kids don't understand the fundamentals of nature."

Photos

Longtime Blair Township residents Elmer and Rose Schmuckal with Supervisor Marilyn Fleis, right, at a planned nature area along M-37.