The Soil and Water Conservation Society of Grand Valley State University is wrapping up the semester with several events, including a garlic mustard pull and tree planting.

The GVSU SWCS chapter is the only one in the state of Michigan and is mainly a service organization that participates in community and environmental improvement projects such as invasive species removal, river cleanups, wood duck habitat improvement, Adopt-A-Highway, native seed collecting and tree planting. The students collaborate with many local organizations, including the Land Conservation of West Michigan, the West Michigan Environmental Council and the local Blandford Nature Center.

Last semester the SWCS hosted guest speaker Brian Majka, the head restoration ecologist and environmental consultant for J.F. New to speak about his job and give advice on how to prepare for a career in natural resources management.

This year, it continues to work on maintaining and installing wood duck boxes in the ravines and organizing GVSU Ravines cleanup days in the spring.

The members of the SWCS find their society to be of great help to their personal, academic and professional lives.

“The Soil and Water Conservation Society offers a great opportunity for great networking opportunities,” said Rebecca Andrews, SWCS president. “When I first joined the society, I learned about important aspects of the university itself from our senior members. These members were…helpful for any homework questions that arose that just did not make sense in class. But above all else, SWCS exposed me to several different organizations. When you apply to these organizations that have seen you working along the side of them, no longer are you just a piece of paper. You are that girl who talked their ear off for two hours last Saturday while removing trash from a natural area while promoting a cause. SWCS puts you in the field, teaches you new skills and surrounds you with intelligent individuals that have similar interests to your field of study.”

SWCS Treasurer Melissa Buzzard said she feels the same way.

“I’ve really enjoyed my three years with SWCS,” Buzzard said. “It gives students a chance to volunteer in the community and to contribute to local conservation efforts. We always have something going on, ranging from river cleanups to movie nights. It’s a good résumé builder and a way to connect with other people in the biology/natural resource field.”

The society still has many events to hold this semester, and volunteers are welcome.

“You don’t need to be a natural resource management or biology major to care about the environment and volunteer,” said Danielle Bradke, SWCS secretary. “We have a lot of activities coming up in that we would love to have more help with.”

The society will be helping the Blandford Nature Center deal with invasive species on April 30, and it will also be planting spruce, larch and possibly red pine trees on campus by the new storm water management pond in the southwest campus area on April 6. The students will host an adopt-a-highway cleanup April 18, will collaborate with WMEAC to clean up the Grand River on Aprl 20, and will be having a garlic mustard pull event at Aman Park April 19.

The society meets on Wednesdays at noon in MAK B-1138, and also holds social events like movie nights. Many members of the SWCS are natural resource management or biology majors, but members of all majors and interests who would like to join are welcome.

For more information about SWCS, visit the Orgsync page online.

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