History Walk attracts over 70 participants

May 24, 2025 Mark Hoffman, the knowledgeable historian of the preserve who has first hand experience and is one of the driving forces in achieving the protected status for the land, offered to a crowd of over 70 people, a history talk/tour of Asylum Lake Preserve from 1880s to early 1970s. He had photos and maps from back then and also photos of the cottages and residences that were built during the Hospital days which have just a few remnants left on the ground. It was interesting to be standing in the preserve and imagining what it may have looked like. The morning weather was pleasant and walkers of all ages enjoyed the info, the exercise and the delicious snacks. More historical information can be found here

Although this tour focused on the white people time of this land, it is hoped that in the future to have a discussion of the land and its people prior to 1880.

It is important to know that ALPA is working hard to build a community of like-minded and supportive people who love the preserve. As the preserve is safe for now we will still have challenges ahead concerning the corner of Drake and Stadium. For now things are quiet on the surface with no publicly known plans. But please stay alert to calls to show up at City Hall, or write letters if it becomes necessary. For now, Enjoy the preserve, leave nothing behind.

Lake levels continue to fluctuate

May 2025 While the lake levels continue to fluctuate, volunteers have been trying to stay ahead of the beavers and other floating debris at the area where the lake drains into the creek and Little Asylum Lake. More volunteers are always welcome as this seems to be a never-ending job.

WMU targets areas for new growth in prescribed burn

May 2025 After having to reschedule due to poor weather conditions, the prescribed burn in areas F3 and F8 happened a couple weeks ago and it was a pretty thorough burn, here are a few smoke and fire images. We all highly respect the power of fire, and how quickly the plants come back up to seek sun. In many areas you can hardly see evidence of the burn at all just a few weeks later.

Vounteers tackled garlic mustard

April 25 The garlic mustard pull on Saturday, April 26 was a success! We had two good crews of about 16 in both morning and afternoon. It was a mix of ages but mostly high schoolers getting their community service credits for graduation. They were all great and hung in there until we filled about 32 big trash bags with the invasive plant. Thanks to all who joined in.

There were a couple of "flash mob" pulls later as the plants matured quickly. These were announced on Facebook and Instagram. s.

As the blossoms fade and the seed pods appear, we are ending the GM pull for the season. Many lessons were learned.

Besides the fact that this has been a good spring for everything growing, blossoming and becoming full - garlic mustard came in as a healthy, abundant and overwhelming crop. There were many willing participants in this year's harvest of the escaped "culinary" herb, who pulled hundreds of pounds of the plant, but we couldn't get it all.

Many thanks to the anonymous volunteers who continued to pull at Parkview and Winchell the second weekend. It felt like another 100 lbs of plant mass removed.

Stewardship Progam is off to a great start.

March 24, 2025

–        ALPA's Volunteer Stewardship program is off to a great start! On March 22nd, 39 volunteers turned out to pick up >200 lbs of trash, adjust protective oak tree wrappings, and kick-off a Plant Inventory project. They also got to know the Preserve better, and had a fun time. Thanks to all who braved the cold and wind!

–        Volunteer trash pickers focused on the Preserve perimeters and roadways where the most litter and trash collects. When rain falls in these areas, trash washes down toward Asylum Lake and its headwaters stream at the bottom of Drake Rd hill. Removing trash from these areas supports ALPA's managment plan priority of Water Quality.

–        Volunteers also began to selectively re-wire-wrap oak trees along the lake's shoreline, to ensure the oaks have plenty of room to grow. This supports ALPA's management plan priority of supporting a Keystone Species Balance in the Preserve, protecting stands of oak trees which support many important types of life at the Preserve.

–        A smaller group of volunteer stewards also began a Citizen Science project to identify plant and tree species in specified squares within the Preserve. By recording their relative abundance each month throughout the year, volunteers will support ongoing native species restoration and rehabilitation efforts in the Preserve. This will help to inform the Council on how to improve native plant restoration through seeding this fall.

Asylum Lake stewardship program is underway.

Photo by Sharon Koole

March 1, 2025 ALPA has begun working with WMU and the Asylum Lake Management Council on a new Stewardship Program. The program will be facilitated by members of the ALPA Board and hopes to be supported by a large core group of volunteers. Projects will be determined and overseen by the Management council and funds for any projects will be provided by the funds set aside for the property. Some of the planned projects include creating a grid map and inventory of desirable land undesirable plants in adult and flowering stage, future plantings of desired species, garlic mustard pull and other plant removals, trash removal, wildflfower plantings, and rain garden maintenance. We would love to have you join us on this endeavor - just sign up to volunteer.

ALPA joins groups to plan Imagine Kalamazoo 2035

ALPA representatives joined more than 10 environmental and nature organizations at a “Meeting on the Go” to help plan Kalamazoo’s future. The Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 initiative encouraged groups to meet and provide input to the City. ALPA will continue to work with these groups as the initiative moves into phase two. Some of the ideas discussed and reported to the City were: Environmental Sustainability & Ecological Health, Greenspaces, Parks, and Natural Areas, Community Engagement & Involvement, Education & Awareness, Education & Awareness, Economic Strategy & Funding, Urban Planning & Infrastructure, Partnerships & Collaboration, Success Stories & Best Practices, and Challenges & Barriers.

November 2024 - Updates from a busy year at ALPA

 Garlic Mustard pull   On April 27, nearly 30 volunteers from ALPA, local high schools, and WMU helped with removal of garlic mustard, an invasive plant, in selected areas of the preserve.  This event has been an annual event and is planned again for sometime next spring.

Controlled burn In May WMU conducted a controlled burn, as they have been doing for many years. Controlled burns are tentatively scheduled to take place in forested management areas F4 and F7 in the spring/summer of 2025. Effort will be made to inform the public of these maintenance projects as the management council continues with restoration of under canopy native planting in the preserve.
Water level drainage problem Beaver deceiver and water level management efforts continue as maintenance for the continued flow of Big Asylum lake into Little Asylum Lake. The clearing away of vegetation debris has been handle by a few dedicated volunteers and Management crewmembers, if interested in helping with this ongoing maintenance project please contact Tom Sauber. When the deceiver is blocked with debris the lake level rises, which can negatively affect some species nesting along its edge.

Management plan update The Asylum Lake Preserve Management Council is in the process of updating its management plan for the Preserve.  ALPA has been providing input and has prioritized a number of areas it would like to see addressed: water quality improvements, creating a tree buffer along Drake Rd., native species improvements & invasive species mitigations, oak forest management, keystone species balance, community engagement and education,and trail maintenance. Paul McNellis will temporarily take the lead in implementing the plan at this time.

Trail management and erosion Efforts to control erosion and accommodate the flow of water off of trails have recently been addressed during 2024 and will continue over the next few years as climate deals us more and stronger rain events. You may have noticed the addition of gravel to some trails, which is helping to slow the erosion.

Beaver management, tree wraps In order to protect young oak trees from being harvested by beavers, a screen protector has been installed on the vulnerable trees around the lake's edge. This will be another ongoing project as each year already wrapped trees will need to have their screen sleeves enlarged to accommodate yearly growth.

Instagram, planned newsletter ALPA now has its own Instagram account.  Follow us @asylum_lake_association for news, happenings, and snapshots of what wildlife is out and about.   We will also email a digital newsletter out soon.   Check for links on this site under About/Newsletters, on Facebook and Instagram.

Looking for volunteers and stewardship plans ALPA has been looking into developing a stewardship program, possibly in coordination with WMU.  We are hoping to secure a list of potential, dedicated volunteers that would help throughout the year with projects such as: garlic mustard removal, trash and trail cleanup, erosion control, tree and flora plantings preparation and maintenance, beaver damage mitigation efforts, and informative walks.  If you are interested in joining us a steward you can volunteer here.

Workday- blight and trash clean-up   Our  planned fall cleanup day has been postponed until spring as well, but we encourage any visitors to bring a bag and collect any trash they see as they walk.

 Tree planting - ALPA had hoped to have a fall planting project, but due to application of a fall herbicide in the designated areas, it has been postponed until spring.   We will keep you posted!

Deer issues, EHD-  A number of deer have been found in the Preserve, especially in the lake. They appear to have died from EHD, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease; symptoms drive the deer to water to drink.   The disease is transmitted by midges, and not from deer to deer, or to other animals or humans.  Hopefully, favorable conditions for the insect breeding will decrease next year.

Dog leash efforts, fishing reminders - ALPA has been instrumental in providing some signage  to remind fishermen to take care and remove all  tackle from lake and shore to keep wildlife safe.   Also, signs remind dog walkers to keep their pets on a leash to prevent damage to sensitive nesting areas for birds and animals.

Community partners - Some of our Board members recently met informally with The Stewards of Kleinstuck in an effort to coordinate efforts among different groups with similar goals. We are pleased to see the Oakland Drive Winchell Neighborhood Association has joined the MI adopt-a-drain program.  Neighbors sign up to clean and monitor storm drains which lead to neighborhood waterways, including Asylum Lake.

Schools and groups using the Preserve – We have been pleased to see schools visiting Asylum Lake. Winchell School fourth-graders recently explored the Preserve to sketch, observe wildlife and enjoy a nature scavenger hunt.   A group of students from Mattawan also enjoyed a similar field trip. While groups are welcome and encouraged to visit, please note that WMU requests that you contact them first so that there is no conflict with other groups or work projects.

Engagement with Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 Greenspace and the Environment Some members of the ALPA board will be meeting with volunteers from other environmental organizations to discuss ways to provide positive feedback and suggestions to the city regarding future planning. We encourage all citizens to provide input as well. Here are some links to those surveys:
Imagine Kalamazoo Imagine It Survey Strategic Goals Survey

Community Shows Support at Special Informational Meeting

On October 21, ALPA hosted an informational meeting for the community, with opportunities for input and discussion, at the Disciples of Christ Church on Winchell Ave.   Members of the ALPA Board and community gave presentations on a variety of topics: controlled burns, informational shadow boxes, the river otters, living with the beavers and their work, history of the Preserve and how it is currently funded, native and invasive plants, water runoff and remediation, parking and access to the Preserve and threats to the Preserve - most recently the proposed development at Stadium and Drake. 

ALPA thanks all the more than 60 people who attended and helped to inform our future efforts.

A more detailed accounting of the meeting can be found here

ALPA is working to keep citizens up to date on issues regarding Asylum Lake.

Check out this recent article in Second Wave Media and join us for a special community information session.

The Asylum Lake Preservation Association invites interested members of the Kalamazoo community to an information and feedback meeting on Saturday, October 21st from 1:00-4:30 pm, in the community hall of the Disciples of Christ Church, 2208 Winchell Ave.  Our goal is to build a network of people who understand the many facets of the Preserve and the challenges it faces. Topics covered will be: 

       Who owns the Preserve and who governs it?

·       What was the story of the Winchell Ave parking debate?

·       What’s happening with BTR II, the Gibbs House, the water remediation project?

·       How do the proposed zoning changes affect the Preserve?

·       What other threats might be on the horizon?

·       What can the community do to protect this treasure?

Community involvement has been keeping the Preserve a preserve and a well-informed network of supporters will continue to be crucial.  Join us for this afternoon of information, and to give us your input on what you see as important for ALPA to know as we plan future projects, and pledge to keep the community informed about situations where your support will be needed.

Formal registration isn’t necessary, but if you let us know you’re coming we can plan for the set-up of the space.  A quick email would be helpful  but not necessary.  asylum.lake.preservation@gmail.com. Feel free to join us at the last minute.