Let's Grow KI

Join us this Thursday 12-4pm TO PULL THAT PLANT! Mainly we will be removing Spotted Knap W**d from the future site of the School Orchard!!!

KI Sawyer residents 18 and over have an opportunity to earn a $20 gift card for coming and helping prep the site for 2 hours or $40 gift card for 4hrs!

Spotted knapweed is a flowering fast spreading invasive plant that leaves behind a toxin in the soil where it decomposes, making it difficult for other native species to survive in those locations.

Contact [email protected] or call 906.226.8871 to register! Or come that day and meet us at the community garden (on Scorpion between Little Trout Lake and the School) at 12PM!

This weekend!!! Community fun!!! We will be planting wildflower companions to help support our fruit tree guilds at the LGKI booth!

IT’S TIME— Little Trout Lake Park is BACK! 🥳

Join us on Saturday, June 13, from 12:00–4:00 PM at Little Trout Lake Park in K.I. Sawyer as we celebrate the transformation of this important community gathering space! The event will feature family-friendly activities, live music from Piper Road Spring Band, vendors, a 5K run/walk, and opportunities for residents to reconnect with one another and experience the park’s new amenities!

📍 Little Trout Lake Park, K.I. Sawyer
📅 Saturday, June 13 | 12:00–4:00 PM

Parking map coming next week — stay tuned!

Want to help make this event special?
We’re looking for volunteers to join the crew! Whether you want to help with activities, greet guests, coordinate parking, or pitch in with setup/cleanup — there’s a spot for you. Shifts are flexible between 10 AM–5 PM.

Reach out to [email protected] to get involved!

We can’t wait to see you out there!!

Plant Swap Crawl May 30th!?
9:30-10AM St. Louis the King Catholic Church in Harvey - 264 Silver Creek Rd
11-12PM Gwinn Community Church - 85 N. Pine St.
2-3PM Lakeshore Depot - 560 Fern Place Marquette

SPECIAL THANK YOU AND SHOUT OUT TO LEE POOLE Owner and operator of Cornerstone Property Services - and all of our volunteers for helping us break ground at Little Trout Lake!!!

For the last week we have been installing the first section of the KI Sawyer Sustainable Food Forest at Little Trout Lake on the new Silver Lead Creek Greenway! Via a DNR grant in partnership with Marquette County Planning Division and Marquette County Conservation District.

We hadn't planned on adding too many amendments down there but after receiving our soil test back from MSU Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center last week, it became clear that if we wanted our berries and apples to be successful- we likely had to.

Lee is a community member who heard the call for help and came out after a long day of manual labor with a mini excavator to break up the compacted ground and mix in the compost and peat moss into the soil.

Though many hands make light work, two dedicated hands with the right equipment saved many hands (and backs) from many hours and potential back aches!

+ He couldn't have been a kinder or more community oriented human, with a very aligned vision for our community- treating each other with respect & dignity and lifting each other up. He was as excited to be involved with what we are doing (planting perennial fruits for long term community sustainability through access to fresh nutritious fruit!) as we were for his last minute help with installation!

Cornerstone Property Services specializes in grating and drainage- check them out! https://cornerstoneserv.com/

Call for Volunteers!!! https://forms.gle/Pv9DrpeaZy2SX4iP7
We have three days of Volunteer activities available for site preparation for the installation of the Blueberries, Strawberries, Honey Berries, Arctic Raspberries, Service Berries, Hazel nuts and Apple Trees at the Little Trout Lake Park Fruit Tree Guild Workshop on May 23rd 12-2PM!!!

Location: Little Trout Lake Park

Tuesday 5/19 2-8PM :
2-4PM Measuring and sighting locations of fence posts and marking locations with colored flags.
3-6PM Digging and setting 4X4 fence posts 3.5' deep with a post hole digger, muscles, a level, and a tamper stick. Driving T-posts and rebar with post drivers. Posts will also be carried or carted to flag locations.
6-8PM Sighting locations for amendments and identifying them with colored flags

Friday 5/22 12-8PM
For those interested in site preparation and upgrading our sand into soil, we will pause operations as desired to discuss which amendments we will be adding to the soil and why, based on the results of our soil test from MSUE!

We are looking for use of Rototillers and or a Backhoe or Skid Steer to help on Friday- please reach out!

Team A: Loading compost via shovels into wheel borrows to flagged planting locations (or using heavy machinery for easier work!). Then opening and Loading Peat Moss packages into wheel borrows and moving to the locations flagged for acidic soil amendments.
Team B: Rototilling and digging up the soil of the flagged planting locations and mixing the compost and other amendments arriving via wheel borrow and bucket into the existing sandy soil. Mixing peat moss and water additionally into the flagged acidic soil amendment locations.
Measurers: Will be overseeing and measuring amendments via a list into areas specified, to be worked into the soil as per each ingredients directions (some are top dressed and some are worked in).
Protect the soil!!! Following the completion of adding of the amendments to any area anyone please immediately cover that area with straw.

Saturday 2PM- done
For a short stint following the workshop, we will be adding and attaching the fence around the posts.

FAQ -
A diverse variety of snacks and refreshments will be available.
Youth are welcome with a guardian who is responsible for them.
Necessary tools will be provided but you are welcome to bring your own- bringing your own work or gardening gloves is recommended.
If it is lightly raining- we will work.
If it is lightning or pouring we will reschedule.
Dress accordingly to the weather (sun, bugs, rain).
These are community events meant to build community with one another, please be respectful to everyone regardless of personal differences of any type.
We are always open to teaching and explaining the process and learning from volunteers- please feel free to ask questions and comment at will!

Join us May 23rd from 12-2pm to learn about how to cultivate a mini ecosystem to grow successful Fruit Trees through the Tree Guild System- while we establish the Little Trout Lake food forest as a community!

Who should attend? Anyone from anywhere interested in learning about how to grow fruit trees with the guild system. Residents who want to meet other cool neighbors while building infrastructure for food sustainability within our community!

KI Sawyer residents who attend from 12-2PM can receive a $20 gift card stipend from MCCD, mailed after the event. Fill out this survey to state interest and get on the list! https://forms.gle/zpVXc8QaZpNw9eEj9