Grant Received from The Wege Foundation to Support Partnership with Miigwech
Friends of Grand Rapids Parks is thrilled to announce the award of a grant from The Wege Foundation for The Restoring Native American Foodways in the Owashtanong (Grand River) Valley, Michigan. This new project for Friends is growing out of existing work related to conservation and natural resource management in partnership with Miigwech. The project […]
Statement Regarding John Ball Zoo
Statement Regarding John Ball ZooBoard of Directors, Friends of Grand Rapids ParksWednesday, December 4, 2024 Friends of Grand Rapids Parks strongly encourages the Kent County Board of Commissioners to enforce the current operating agreement the county has with the John Ball Zoo and the 2016 millage voters passed. We encourage our friends and community to submit […]
The Emma Cole Project: Creating a Botanical Inventory of Grand Rapids Parks
This past summer, a team from Calvin University partnered with Friends of Grand Rapids Parks to set out to continue the legacy of an inspiring local botanist, Emma Jane Cole. Students Erin Taylor, Charlie Baumeister, and Grace Langeland—under the guidance of Dr. Garrett Crow and Dr. David Warners—conducted botanical inventories at twelve local parks, documenting […]
Meet Our 2024 Youth Green Team!
Our Youth Green Team is a part of Friends of Grand Rapids Parks’ seasonal crew, helping us water and maintain trees from June through August. Our 2024 Green Team consists of nine fantastic individuals with ages ranging between 14 to 21 years old. Each day, the crew takes off from our office on their […]
Our New Board Member: John McCrackin
We are excited to announce that John McCrackin has joined our board of directors! John has held senior project and design engineering positions at MillerKnoll, Steelcase, Aspen Surgical, Irwin Seating Company, and Stryker in their surgical instruments division. During his time at Steelcase, he was awarded 7 patents, and at MillerKnoll, he developed award-winning products. […]
Meet Our New Board Members!
We’re excited to introduce you to two new faces at Friends: Kal and Lauren! Meet our new Community Forester, Kal McLane! Originally from the middle of the mitten, Kal has loved living in Grand Rapids for the last three years. Kal enjoys hiking with their senior dogs, foraging, and doing pretty much any outdoor activity. […]
Meet Our New Board Members!
We have two new faces on our Board of Directors! Please give Danielle and Susan a warm welcome! We are excited to have them as part of the team.
Becky Pobst joins Green Communities Leadership Institute’s 2024 Cohort
Our Community Forestry Project Manager, Becky Pobst, was recently selected to join the Green Communities Leadership Institute’s 2024 Cohort. The Green Communities Leadership Institute was developed by natural resource professionals who serve in diverse leadership roles across the US. This shared leadership opportunity brings together bright leaders. It creates the time, space, and experience for […]
Celebrate With Us: Our $5 Million Win
We are thrilled to have secured $5 million in grant funding!
Our New Board Member: Molly Cook
We are delighted to share that Molly Cook will be one of our newest board members! Molly loves to connect with others and engage in all of the wonderful work in the community. Molly works with non-profits, universities, and government entities everyday through her work as a consultant. Through her business, Extended Capacity Consulting, Molly […]