Mission
Established in 1985, the Ecosystem Preserve occupies much of the north central area of Calvin College's east campus. Its mission is to:
- preserve habitats and plant and animal species indigenous to this area of the state,
- provide an outdoor teaching and research venue for college students and faculty,
- encourage passive recreation by members of the college community in ways that emphasize appreciation of the natural sights and sounds of the larger creation
- provide both educational and recreational benefits to the larger Grand Rapids community.
History
In 1978, a study team of the Calvin Center for Christian Studies dealing with environmental stewardship proposed establishing a nature preserve on about 35 acres of undeveloped land in the northeast corner of the Calvin College campus. The area, once part of a local horse farm, contained a mixed hardwood forest, abandoned hay fields and wetlands (mostly vernal ponds). The study team argued that setting aside this area would be an appropriate expression of stewardship of God's creation on campus. The preserve would provide a valuable site for conserving elements of the local landscape as they were before European settlement and could provide an environmental study center for the college and the surrounding community.
In the summer of 1985, with support from the William Angell Foundation of Muskegon, Mich., the first steps in establishing the Calvin College Ecosystem Preserve were undertaken. A trail system was created and overlooks were constructed on two ponds. This work was accomplished by 12 Calvin College students under direction of Marvin VanderWal, a member of the college Engineering Department. Total cost for the overlooks and one-half mile of edged and wood-chipped trail was approximately $125,000.
Closer study of the preserve lands soon disclosed that the site which the college had set aside was part of a small watershed which included three neighboring properties not owned by the college. Between 1985 and 1987 the college purchased two of these parcels so that nearly all of the watershed of the intermittent stream originating on the preserve is included within the preserve boundaries. The total area of the preserve as the result of these purchases grew to over 70 acres.
In 1995 a donation by a neighbor of the Ecosystem Preserve added two three-acre lots to the preserve. One of these held a house which is now used as the preserve headquarters. The other lot was an undeveloped old field which will be allowed to reforest to establish movement corridors between the preserve and wild lands approximately one-half mile to the north. The full preserve now totals 90 acres.
