leafbag

Trowels ready, rakes set, gardeners go. City of Ann Arbor weekly curbside collection of residential yardwaste resumes, Monday April 2nd. Need some compost and mulch for your spring planting? The City's Municipal Compost Center is expanding hours to include Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon during gardening season.

Slow Food Huron Valley is gearing up for spring events promoting locally produced foods and sustainable agriculture. On April 12 there is a membership meeting and Michigan cheese tasting. The library has lots of resources on slow food, including the book Slow Food: The case for taste. Keep an eye out this Saturday March 24 for the second annual Project Grow Seed Swap from 10 a.m. to noon at the Leslie Science Center, 1831 Traver Road in Ann Arbor. Even if you don’t swap seeds, you are welcome at this event and people will help you get started.

roundabout

The City of Ann Arbor is hosting a public workshop on Thursday, March 22, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to discuss improvements to the Huron Parkway/Nixon Road intersection. The workshop will be held in the Community Room at Parkway Meadows, 2575 Sandalwood Circle. The City will provide information on the proposed roundabout and take questions and comments from the public. For more information on the meeting, call 734.994.6087.

downtown

The March 2007 edition of Discovering Downtown, the City of Ann Arbor's newsletter is packed with updates from the Planning Department, the Historic Preservation folks, the DDA. If it's happening in downtown Tree Town, from paving to parking to public spaces, you'll read about it first in Discovering Downtown.

collins

The Ann Arbor Police Department's first African American police officer, Clayton James Collins, died February 8, 2007. Officer Collins served from 1950 - 1955 and then worked in several departments at the University of Michigan. His obituary appeared in the Ann Arbor News, March 14, 2007. To learn more about the AAPD, visit the Ann Arbor Police Department Online History Exhibit.

bertie

The Humane Society of Huron Valley is searching for the Official Celebrity Spokesdog for the Walk & Wag fundraiser to be held on Saturday May 19, 2007 at the Washtenaw County Farm Park. Your dog is definitely a contender if he/she is spayed or neutered, friendly to fellow animals and humans, and has that certain flair for the spotlight. Follow the links above for more info or call the HSHV at 662.5585.

Home logo

What a beautiful day! It makes me dream about working in the yard or tackling that kitchen remodeling project. And I have just the place to go for ideas.

The 2007 Builders Home & Improvement Show is happening this weekend March 16-18 at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Road.

There will be seven buildings filled with displays to inspire and entice the homeowner. Be there when it opens on Friday (3-9 pm) or check it out on Saturday (10-8) or Sunday (11-5).

Tickets are $5 for adults and available at the door. Children under 12 get in for free.

For more details you can go to the web site of the sponsoring Home Builders Association of Washtenaw County or call (734) 996-0100.

glrc

Here's a great way to get acquainted with the online version of a premiere regional environmental news service, the Great Lakes Radio Consortium. You've heard the GLRC Environmental Reports on Michigan Radio but the web site offers audio, text and images. Read, listen and look at the story on the Ann Arbor District Library's initiative to use the dead ash trees cut down at the site of the new Northeast Branch for some of the structure of the building.

Create your own mosaic tile from found art, recycled glass and ceramic pieces at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) on Saturday, March 10th at 10 and 11 a.m. or Tuesday, March 13th at 3 and 4 p.m. Don’t forget to take a tour of the recycling operations while you’re there. The tile making and tours are free. Call 734-994-4722 for more information or to register groups of 5 or more.

park

Washtenaw County Naturalist Extraordinaire Faye Stoner will lead a hike at Park Lyndon South's Lake Genevieve on Sunday, March 11, 2-4 p.m., exploring and explaining kettle lakes, bogs, fens and fauna. Meet Faye at the West Lot and wear boots and pants that can get wet.