Ferris State Ducks Unlimited chapter members (from left) Kolton Grice of Rockford,
Colton Moore of Cedar Springs, Jordan DeGroot of Coopersville, Parker Sargent of Grand
Island, Nebraska and Matthew Chapel of Grand Haven show off one of ten wood duck houses
they installed on April 18 in the Haymarsh State Game Area.The students built the
structures with donated materials and had Department of Natural Resources supervision
to guide the installation.
Ducks Unlimited chapter members at Ferris State University capped a year’s worth of collaboration on Tuesday, April 18, when they joined Michigan Department of Natural Resources staff in the Haymarsh Lake State Game Area. The groups gathered to install 10 wood duck houses in a swamp.
Jordan DeGroot, a junior from Coopersville in the Construction Management program, said the registered student organization was considering a community outreach project and provided duck houses after discussions with the DNR.
“They were agreeable to this idea so long as we took up all aspects of producing the houses and their installation,” DeGroot said. “We began by securing a donation from Big L Lumber, in Stanwood, which gave us the raw materials for building the houses.”
Another community partnership helped the Ducks Unlimited students succeed in their assembly phase.
“Jeff Hovey, in industrial arts with the Big Rapids Public Schools, provided oversight on our work, along with making the high school’s wood shop available to us,” DeGroot said. “The DNR agreed to store the houses until it was the right time to place them in the Haymarsh.”
Jordan DeGroot, president of Ferris State University’s Ducks Unlimited chapter, looks
over the installation of a wood duck house Tuesday, April 18, in the Haymarsh State
Game Area near Paris. DU chapter members worked with the Department of Natural Resources
staff to place 10 houses built and erected with donated materials.
Matthew Chapel is a sophomore from Grand Haven majoring in Plastics Engineering Technology and a Ducks Unlimited executive board member. Chapel said a final community contribution helped the eight-member Ducks Unlimited chapter accomplish the early-morning installation.
“The Mecosta County Road Commission provided metal street signposts to the DNR, which we drove down into the swamp to make a base for each house,” Chapel said. “The DNR staff came out to show us the most appropriate locations, which made for a great experience.”
DeGroot said the chapter is open to input from other community groups, as they intend to build on their volunteer outreach experiences.
“This was a valuable group activity for us. We plan to clean the houses after each nesting season so the materials are always fresh and suitable,” DeGroot said. “We welcome any proposals related to wetland preservation and improving waterfowl habitat in this area.”