Nature Society

The Royal Oak Nature Society is a volunteer group working with the City to protect and promote the usage of Royal Oak's two nature preserves: Cummingston Park & Tenhave Woods.

Both Cummingston Park & Tenhave Woods are nature areas that are over 20 acres in size and are heavily wooded with lined trails. They are open daily to the public from dawn to dusk. Dogs are not allowed inside either nature area. To learn more about why dogs are not allowed in these parks, please link on to "Why Dogs Are Not Allowed In Our Nature Parks".

Wearing boots while in the parks is recommended during the winter and spring months. Using insect repellant and dressing appropriately is advised from late spring through the end of summer.

To learn more about the parks, please come to our naturalist led nature walks. To find out when & where they are scheduled, link on to "Nature Walks". Park locations can be found by linking on to "Park Locations" and from that page, there are links to trail maps of the two nature parks.

Check out the links to the left for additional information!

The Royal Oak Nature Society Arboretum is having two volunteer stewardship/gardening days:

• The first event is weeding & soil preparation for the second planting day. On September 25 (Saturday) at 1 pm we will trim, weed, and Roundup  buckthorn-invaded areas that were cut previously by scout projects, but were not herbcided because of a shortage of sprayers. We would be most gracious for your help if anyone has gas-powered string trimmers, a brush-hog, or a propane/torch weeder.  We will have a couple pairs of loppers or pruners available to cut small buckthorn resprouts, as well as a shovel & rake to dig & regrade. Please bring a some more shovels, rakes, & pruners if you have any. We could also use the help from anyone who is a certified pesticide applicator.

• The second weekend, October 2 (Saturday), we are requesting native gardeners to share Oak Savanna specialist plants on our attached wish list (Oak Savanna Donation Day) that they might be growing. Donors may drop off plants at my house (30775 Longcrest, Southfield, MI 48076) or bring them to the RONS Arboretum at the event start time. Also included in the attachment is information about the Oak Savanna Donation Day event and supplies
  needed.

Special Notices:

• The Cromwell Goodwin Headstone Dedication will be held on September 11 at 1:00pm in the Royal Oak Cemetery. Check the announcements page for more details!
• The Nature Society currently has four membership levels. As a General member, you receive our schedule (nature walks, speaker programs & other events) for the next month via e-mail. There is no cost. Other types of memberships include Associate ($5/year), Supporting ($10/year) & Patron ($50). Information about these memberships can be found on our membership page.
• The Nature Society is now on Facebook. If you haven't already done so, please consider joining us. Feel free to add nature related photos to our Facebook page and/or start discussions.
  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60222880753
• Royal Oak Nature Society t-shirts for sale at our speaker programs throughout the year and can be purchased for $4.

The Nature Society is a member of the Royal Oak Opportunity To Serve (ROOTS) Foundation, established by the city to accept donations and endowments for the improvement of civic institutions.  Donations and bequests may be designated for specific Nature Society projects. Check here for further information on the ROOTS Foundation.