The Bay City Rowing Club Boathouse will be expanded for use by kayakers and canoeists.

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URBAN RECREATION: Community Foundation's Largest Grant to Land Conservancy

December 6, 2014       Leave a Comment
By: MyBayCity Staff

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A $100,000 Newell & Elizabeth Eddy Grant will go to the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy for their Outdoor Urban Recreation (O.U.R.) Project, the Bay Area Community Foundation (BACF) has announced.

This grant marks the Community Foundation's largest single award in the foundation's 32 year history, according to Eileen A. Curtis, President and CEO of the Bay Area Community Foundation.

"We are extremely pleased to partner with the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy to create a connection to nature in our community and to honor Newell and Elizabeth Eddy," stated Ms. Curtis.

To honor Mr. and Mrs. Eddy for their support of the entire community, the Bay Area Community Foundation's Board of Trustees allocated $100,000 for a one time grant to promote access to the natural areas. Mr. and Mrs. Eddy will be honored with a special celebration and signage at each event.

"The Land Conservancy's project was selected after a competitive application process. A committee of local volunteers led by Committee Chair Anne Trahan, a trustee of the Foundation, made the award selection after careful consideration. The committee's recommendation was presented to the Foundation's Board of Trustees for review and approval."

"The innovative O.U.R. Project is designed to provide people in urban areas with access to nature, right where they live, work, and play," Ms. Curtis said. "Focusing on three main elements, urban ambassador landscapes, nature based education and active outdoor programming; the O.U.R. Project will transform a series of vacant or neglected Bay City spaces into portals for active outdoor recreation and learning."

These spaces include the Golson Nature Area, the Michigan Sugar Trails, Bay City Rowing Club Boathouse and Discovery Preserve at Euclid Park.

The Golson Nature Area, located just west of Independence Bridge, will have its natural features 'reset' to allow SBLC to re-imagine the boardwalks, platforms, and signs as tools to tell an updated story about nature and the Saginaw Bay Birding Trail.

The Michigan Sugar Trails, to be located on Bay City's Middle grounds, will be a 26-acre natural space with trails open to a wide variety of users including birders, fisherman, walkers, runners and cyclists.

The Bay City Rowing Club (BCRC) Boathouse will feature a resurfaced gravel apron leading to the River and a new launch, using technology designed and tested by the Friends of the Shiawassee River, to expand its use to kayakers and canoeists.

Discovery Preserve at Euclid Park will be further developed as a learning landscape, with spotting scopes, a completed boardwalk, and more plantings. Additionally, the site will feature a shelter/pavilion for the Chippewa Nature Center (CNC). The pavilion will allow the CNC to display exhibits and signage, provide them with a 'home field' programming venue and a foothold in Bay City.

Additionally, SBLC plans to develop a field guide and website. Patterned after the popular Saginaw Bay Birding Trail guide, it will be available to help connect people with nature. Over 20,000 copies will be produced, and a complementary website will be developed.

This grant was made possible through an estate gift from Newell and Elizabeth Eddy. Mr. and Mrs. Eddy were former Bay County residents and longtime donors to the Foundation.

Mr. Eddy was the Owner/President of the Habitant Furniture Co., which built rustic furniture and fencing in Bay City. He was born in Bay City in 1914, was a 1933 graduate of Central High School and 1937 graduate of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at NU.

Newell Eddy, known as 'Bus,' died in Fallbrook, California at age 80 in August 1995. Elizabeth, known as 'Bonnie,' passed away in November 2012 at the age of 93.

The Eddy family had a deep interest in Bay County philanthropy, said Ms. Curtis. They supported the consolidation of local hospitals into what is now McLaren Bay Region, took an active role in community growth, supported education and worked to preserve the environment.

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