Author: Phil Huhn
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FSMW Board Meeting (June 18, 2026)

Online Zoom Meeting June 18 7:30, Thursday FSMW is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. In this meeting we will explore what we as a community can do to manage and care for Scarlett Mitchell Woods, the central 40 acres of the Scarlett Mitchell Nature Area. This area contains the heart of the woods and the pond, which…
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Birds of 1972

CHECK LIST – BIRDS OF MITCHELL-SCARLETT WOODS Hermit Thrush Mallard Swainson’s Thrush Black Duck (N) Veery Blue Winged Teal Golden—Crowned Kinglet Wood Duck Cedar Waxwing Green Heron Starling (N) Turkey Vulture Red-Eyed Vireo Sparrow Hawk Warbling Vireo Bobwhite Black-and-white Warbler Ring-necked Pheasant (N) Blue—Winged Warbler Sora Rail Tennessee Warbler Killdeer (N) Nashville Warbler American Woodcock…
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Garlic Mustard Journal (May 10, 2026)

From: Judy S.: On Mother’s Day I enjoyed a long session in the woods checking up on the garlic mustard status and decided to put it in journal form with photos. It was an idyllic afternoon – weather just right, almost no one else in the woods and no traffic sounds. Mother’s Day – Session # 3(?)…
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Workday – June 6, 2026

Who: Anyone who’s willing and able to help. Scarlett students are welcome to participate but you must bring a parent. Where: Meet at the bench near the showcase at the main entrance to the woods. Why? spreading wood chips, trash cleanup along old Ellsworth and removal of invasive buckthorn and honeysuckle. Maybe even building boardwalks. What to bring: When: Saturday…
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Boardwalk on West End of Pond

In spring of 2025 the pond was so full that the pond water covered the path on the northwest end of the pond. Michael B. acquired a $1,000 grant from DTE to purchase the materials to construct the boardwalk. Because this on the main loop trail a more extensive boardwalk was constructed. People should be…
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Take this swap and shovel it

From Ann Arbor News article on July 1, 1990 Nature lovers want parks department to dredge marsh for bird life Nature lovers Manfred Schmidt and Will Weber think there isn’t anything wrong with the Mitchell-Scarlett marsh that a huge shovel wouldn’t fix. Schmidt, a landscaper, and Weber, who has a doctorate from the University of…
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Just Duckie

From Ann Arbor News article March 30, 1981 Members of the Scarlett-Mitchell Woods Association were busy over the weekend erecting duck and goose nesting stations in a marsh behind Scarlett Intermediate School. They hope that next year some traveling feathered friends will take up residence in the marsh. The Association is also trying to raise…
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Manfred and Judy – Friends of Mitchell-Scarlett Woods

Friends of Mitchell-Scarlett Woods | A Conservation Mini-Documentary This short documentary gives a quick introduction to two conservationists, Judy and Manfred Schmidt, and the process that they went through to conserve Mitchell-Scarlett Woods, a nature reserve in the middle of Ann Arbor, Michigan, surrounded by a highway and developments. They had to stave off developers,…
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Chokecherry

Chokecherry (Prunus Virginiana – Wikipedia) is a species of bird cherry native to North America. Chokecherries’ is a shrub, native from mid-Ohio to mid-Canada. Chokecherry leaf is oval 1 to 4 inches long and 1/2 to 2 inches wide. The leaf is dark green above with a paler underside. Chokecherry flowers are small, white, 5-petaled blossoms…


