Nature and Nurture Farm Natural Areas Stewardship Plan 2025

Abstract

Stewardship of natural areas within farmland can make a vital contribution to conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services at the landscape and local landowner scales. Nature & Nurture Seed Farm is a 130-acre farm in Dexter, Michigan. Although they specialize in producing heirloom seeds, much of their land includes high quality forests, grasslands, and wetlands, which they desire to steward, but have limited resources and capacity to do while maintaining a farm-business. The goal of this project is to serve as an example for how to build the knowledge and capacity for natural area stewardship on Nature & Nurture Farm and other small farm properties. To accomplish this, our team created and began to implement a well-informed natural area management plan, including actions to strengthen community connections to the property in a way that builds long-term stewardship capacity. We used a mixed-methods approach including meander and plot-based plant surveys, trail camera and audio recordings of animals, and existing map data to produce a comprehensive ecological assessment of geomorphology, flora, and fauna. We also documented site history through interviews with neighboring landowners. We found that the natural areas on site had a history of cultivation and sheep farming, but currently harbor over 100 plant and 30 animal species, including high densities of salamanders and spring ephemerals. Invasive plant species and overabundant deer are current threats to natural area biodiversity, but can be managed through grant programs and strategic ongoing community engagement with local experts and UM students.