– Bonus (Pledge Drive, no audio because I didn’t record any) Episode
– For Friday, Dec. 5, 2025

1 – The year 2025 was filled with trees. 

The Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy says staff and volunteers planted more than 1,000 trees for various projects. 

In April, they established a new nursery with 500 trees as part of a Better Branches Regional Tree Initiative. 

In October, they planted 525 new trees at the Saginaw River Headwaters Rec Area, including oak, maple, locust, hackberry and tulip trees. 

Eleven balled and burlapped trees also went in at four Bay City parks in early November as part of a Taking Root Tree Donation Program. For more information, see TreeDonation.org. 

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2 – The state has holiday gift ideas. 

A game called “What in the Wild” includes a deck of 120 cards with rules for five different games. 

The cards contain plant and animal species and the food, water, shelter, and space they need to survive. 

The games were designed to be easy enough for elementary kids and challenging enough to keep adults engaged.

You can buy “What in the Wild” online. 

Sale proceeds are used to send copies of the game to educators across Michigan for use in classrooms. 

The game complements a “Go Wild for Michigan’s Wildlife” curriculum package from the state Department of Natural Resources, online at Michigan.gov/DNR.

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3 – A reminder that the dinosaurs are coming. 

The documentary “Dinosaur Fish,” about restoring lake sturgeon in the Saginaw Bay watershed, is showing for free at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12. 

The 23-minute film will screen at the Delta College Planetarium in downtown Bay City. 

It was produced by The Conservation Fund and its local program known as the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network.

The film details a long-term effort to reintroduce the ancient fish to the region.

The documentary was supported by the Bay Area Community Foundation in Bay City and the C.S. Mott Foundation of Flint. 

The film will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Mike Kelly, director of the Great Lakes Office for The Conservation Fund.

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard at 6:45 and 8:45 Friday mornings on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM WUCX in University Center, Michigan, near Bay City (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes