September 27, 2025 | Thank you so much to the volunteers who showed up for our Fall Volunteer Day. It was a beautiful morning and we got a lot accomplished. We wrapped young trees to help protect them from deer, prepared areas within the Preserve where Oak trees will be planted and collected trash. It was great to see everyone! We hope you'll join us for our next volunteer morning
August 23, 2025 | A dedicated and energetic group of about 12 volunteers enjoyed the late summer morning helping to tag trees and learn about which trees will need protection from the weather, beavers and deer. On September 27, volunteer crews will go back and either wrap these same trees with protective devices or wider fencing. The oaks and hickory trees are flagged for special attention. ALPA hopes to keep these native hardwoods thriving in the preserve for many years to come.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
May 25, 2023 | Close to a hundred people gathered Saturday May 20, at the Drake Rd. entrance, to celebrate and enjoy The Asylum Lake Preserve at an event sponsored by ALPA with the help of WMU. Visitors enjoyed refreshments and live music as they viewed and enjoyed informational and educational displays and presentations by these community groups: Citizen’s Climate Lobby and Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition, Audubon Society of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo River Watershed Council, ALPA, Western Michigan University, Stewards of Kleinstuck, Kalamazoo Wild Ones, Ardea and National Youth Coalition for the Environment, and the Kalamazoo Nature Center.
Tours by local experts were very popular and engaged many new and returning visitors. Tyler Bassett led a group of walkers through the preserve discussing the varied plant life, including both native and non-native species. Donna Keller’s tour gave many bird lovers chances to spot and learn about birds and our current waterfowl visitors. Mark Hoffman walked a group of life-long learners through part of the preserve where the old asylum buidlings were located, and provided both an interesting chronology and a fascinating history.
The ALPA board would like to thank all those who attended or participated for their continued support that gives our community the opportunity to share and learn more about our amazing and precious world of nature near and afar.
April 2023 ALPA is honored to be hosting a Community Gathering at Asylum Lake Preserve. This event will be held on May 20th from 12:00 noon to 4pm at the Drake Road Entrance.
Join us for some music, light refreshments, displays and conversations with local environmental and nature groups, and an assortment of tours of the Preserve with our local experts. We look forward to you helping us celebrate Asylum Lake Preserve, increasing community awareness and providing support for this Community Treasure.
A gathering—
To beat back Garlic Mustard, the “evil weed” that threatens the native plants in our Preserve,
Giving us a chance to get outside-
To give back to that special place that gives us so much.
Four work sessions:
Saturday, May 7, 10:00-12:00 or 1:00-3:00
Saturday, May 14, 10:00-12:00 or 1:00-3:00
Rain Date Sunday, May 15, 1:00-3:00
Pick a session when you and/or your household or friends can participate, We must have prior registration, this will enable us to judge how many team leaders will be needed, along with our group sizes (REGISTER ON OUR HOME PAGE) After we get your registration, we’ll send you specific information about the event.
Guided groups will go out and pull the young mustard plants, and the plants will be collected by the group leaders and put in a pit which will be dug by WMU’s landscape services, then buried so that they will not scatter seeds. This is one important thing we can do that will really make a difference.
Join us! Especially because ALPA did not have annual meetings the last two years, this will be ALPA’s annual gathering.
If you wish to renew your membership (not necessary to participate) in ALPA or join for the first time, choose the Make A Gift tab above.
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