An Introduction

Frosty Maple Leaf

Welcome to the blog for the Isabella Conservation District Environmental Education Program.  My name is Michael LeValley.  I am the Education Coordinator for the Isabella Conservation District.  I was hired in 2009 to get the District's Environmental Education Program off the ground.  This program runs in schools throughout Isabella County, MI and focuses on teaching Life and Earth Science concepts to students in Grades 3 - 6.  We offer classroom and field programs on a variety of environmental and conservation related topics with a focus on local habitats.  I did our first classroom program in December 2009.  Since that time,  I have given nearly 500 school programs to over ten thousand students in Mid-Michigan.  I also from time to time do programs for the local library system and other groups. 

During school programs, students ask me lots of questions that sometimes I do not have time to answer during the course of the program or to which I don't have a ready answer.  I hope to use this blog to answer some of those questions and also to focus on local nature including plants, animals, rocks & minerals, weather, etc. throughout the years.  I also hope to highlight upcoming science and nature events as they occur in the community and any interesting stories/links that I come across. Any photos on this blog are mine unless otherwise noted and any thoughts are my own.  My hope is to be able to post something daily throughout the school year with the hope that teachers and students will be able to use this in the classroom.

Mid-Michigan may not seem to be a hotbed of nature and science.  We do not have sweeping vistas and great animal migrations, but if you look closely what you find might amaze you.  It is amazing what is right outside the door waiting to be found.  Thank you for your interest.