Plaster Creek Stewards

Plaster Creek Stewards seeks to create opportunities for all watershed members to join in the story of a healthy, beautiful, renewed Plaster Creek. As an initiative of Calvin University, our strategy includes research, education and engagement, partnerships, and regenerative practices (ex. native landscapes and rain gardens).

We strive to educate the community about watershed ecology and to develop a growing group of people who understand the strengths, needs, and problems affecting the Plaster Creek Watershed. With each of our educational events, we also provide an opportunity for people to take specific action to restore the watershed either through working in the greenhouse, installing a rain garden, planting trees, or other restoration projects.

Research is key to addressing the issues polluting Plaster Creek. We are researching stormwater related pollutants, the social history of the Plaster Creek Watershed, as well as best management practices for watershed restoration. We are also amassing a dataset of how various plant species fare over time and which site conditions are important for determining species' survival.

Native plants are essential for a healthy watershed and Calvin University has a native plant nursery and rainscaping initiative that enables us to implement on-the-ground habitat restoration throughout the watershed. We provide plants, consulting, site design, installation, and maintenance for restoration projects in the Plaster Creek Watershed. We collect seeds locally, germinate and grow these native Michigan plants in our greenhouses, and use these deeprooted plants in watershed restoration projects like rain gardens, bioswales, floodplain restoration plantings, or other native plant landscapes.