Are two heads really better than one?
Local conservationists hope the old adage is collectively true, as members of the Clarkston Watershed Group and the North Oakland Headwaters Land Conservancy explore the possibility of joining forces.
Although the idea only recently surfaced for discussion, both groups see potential benefits.
‘I think we’re looking at more pros than cons,? said CWG co-chair Jim Brueck, after representatives from both organizations met last week. ‘The biggest potential advantage is that the NOHLC has a 501(3)(c) non-profit status, and that’s a nice umbrella to have.?
The CWG, he pointed out, needs support for the projects it has planned, especially creation of an ‘environmental showcase? in Depot Park.
The project, a master plan combining ecological design with aesthetics, includes ideas such as expanded and additional rain gardens, designs for city office and grounds improvements, porous path surfaces, and installation of a wave garden to showcase the beauty’and benefits’of native plants.
Ultimately, the plan was developed to attract and educate visitors’who would, ideally, take ideas for sustainable practices back to their own homes and neighborhoods.
But, while the CWG has secured several small grants in recent years, a project the scope of an ‘environmental showcase? would require a higher level of funding, such as that available from organizations like the Erb Family Foundation.
The foundation is a Michigan-based group that funds a number of initiatives, including site-based conservation activities aimed at educating the public and changing behaviors and public policy’both individual and institutional’on environmental toxins and pollutants.
In order to even apply for a grant from the Erb Family Foundation’which the CWG said it is very interested in doing’an organization must have the 501(c)(3) status’which the CWG does not.
A partnership with the NOHLC would not only give CWG such a status, but would bring other benefits as well, Brueck explained.
‘It partners us with an organization that, while our objectives aren’t exactly the same, they’re pretty closely linked,? he said. ‘The NOHLC is in the process of amending their bylaws to include a higher degree of land stewardship, and that falls in line with a lot of the things we’ve done.?
And, while the NOHLC is generally focused on stewardship’the organization currently protects 52 properties, with the majority in Independence and Springfield townships’as well as some in Rose, Holly and Brandon’the group is also interested in educating the public about what they do.
‘We could be a catalyst for them to jump-start their efforts toward education,? Brueck said, noting the NOHLC’s administrative structure would also benefit the Clarkston Watershed Group.
‘It would take us outside asking the city to do special things to control our funds,? he said. ‘It hasn’t been a problem, but it’s not a city function.?
Ideally, a merger would allow the CWG to maintain its watershed stewardship focus in Clarkston and the surrounding area, but benefit from the overall administrative support and non-profit status of the NOHLC.
In turn, the NOHLC would benefit from expanded membership, and a stronger watershed focus in Clarkston and Independence Township, where many of its properties are located.
Members of the NOHLC were enthusiastic about exploring a merger.
‘The potential for collaboration is excellent,? said NOHLC Executive Director Katie Anderson. ‘We all envision the ecological showcase as a wonderful way to engage the community in learning about sustainable practices; to engage the citizens of the Village of Clarkston and surrounding townships in those types of practices is a goal of both organizations. If we can be more effective by being together, that’s great.?
The groups have worked together successfully in the past, Anderson pointed out.
‘The Clarkston Watershed Group has folks who are very dedicated to the cause,? she said. And if they see an advantage to pairing with us, it’s certainly worth exploring. Our membership would benefit from their dedication to preserving water quality.?
But, she warned, it’s important for both groups to explore the idea of a merger carefully before making a decision.
Members of the CWG agreed a group of four group members’two from each organization’would begin meeting this week to discuss how a collaboration could fit into the mission and goals of both the NOHLC and the CWG.