Comstock Park Urban Prairie

  • LOCATION: Comstock Park
  • One acre, diverse biological habitat composed of microenvironments
  • One of the first Homegrown National Park sites in Michigan
  • National Audubon Society Plants for Birds
  • National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat
  • Xerces Society Pollinator Habitat
  • Pollinator Partnership, Pollinator Pathway, Humane Society Humane Backyard, Midwest Native Plant Society, Monarch Watch, North American Butterfly Association Certified Butterfly Garden
  • Wild Ones Native Plant & Pollinator Garden
  • Wild Ones Native Plant Butterfly Garden
  • and habitat for more than 10 species of native bees
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I moved to West Michigan in 1996 and managed a traditional landscape with a turf lawn, formal ornamental gardens and veggie and herb gardens. In 2014, I took the MSU Master Naturalist training and was inspired to begin the Comstock Park Urban Prairie (CPUP).

CPUP is in constant change and succession, evolving while I strive to “build a shared future for all life.” There is a rain garden, chocolate box ecology, mini tallgrass prairie, sand prairie, raised beds, connectors, invertebrate meadow, beetle bank, shade garden, and woodland edge. The habitat adjoins a larger woodlot but is otherwise surrounded by the standard suburban monoculture.

I am a biodiversity conservation geographer, advanced master gardener, master naturalist, MSU Pollinator Champion, and steward with the Kent Conservation District. My four guiding principles for Comstock Park Urban Prairie:

  1. Support the Food Web
  2. Support a Diverse Complex of Pollinators
  3. Manage the Watershed
  4. Sequester Carbon
I encourage everyone adopt them for their own landscapes to help restore a healthy planet.

“Gardening is like cooking. It is tempting to cook only with the goal of achieving great taste, with no thought of healthy eating… Similarly, it is tempting to garden only for beauty, without regard to the many ecological roles our landscapes must perform.”  Douglas W. Tallamy. Nature’s  Best Hope. Timber Press, 2019
Selected Resources:
Beneficial Bird Native Plant Chart – Wild Farm Alliance

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