A few years ago, Northern Bay area community members such as Mike Stoner started noticing that local people, especially younger generations, were disconnected from the beautiful land that surrounds them. Mike commented that when he was a child, he spent a lot of time playing outside, but times are different now with emerging technologies. More people of all ages are spending more time viewing screens than being outdoors.
“Our goal was to provide opportunities for people to participate in the Saginaw Bay Area that they might not have on their own,” Mike said.
Mike serves on the Northern Bay Community Fund committee, is an active part of the annual Nature Festival, and writes the weekly “Birding Bits” article in the Pinconning Journal. He believes that people have an interest in nature but just need to be reawakened to it.
“As we suspected, the interest was always there,” he said.
The Northern Bay Fund has recently played an important role in revitalizing the Bay County Pinconning Park to allow more access to enjoy the bay. The funds helped get the project going, but it was truly the community that made it successful.
“It’s all a part of a bigger picture,” Mike said. “Lots of organizations and individuals work together to show how important our land is and how fortunate it is that we live in an area that has these opportunities.”
Through a collaboration of students, community members, organizations, and local businesses, Pinconning Park is a place where you can truly see the Bay Area thrive. It is this community effort that we need to help protect these natural resources for future generations to enjoy forever.
