St. Philip Lutheran Church Visits the International Wildlife Refuge

On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, twelve people from St. Philip Lutheran Church in Trenton joined Ranger Todd Weston for a guided tour of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge's Visitor Center and Humbug Marsh in Trenton, Michigan.

This event was the third Vacation Bible School event held this summer by St. Philip Lutheran Church. Earlier this summer, children and adults visited the Gibraltar Bay Unit of the refuge on the southern end of Grosse Ile and participated in a traditional Vacation Bible School event at the church. This event was also sponsored by St. Philip's Perennial Waters Project which focuses on caring for creation.

The guided tour of the refuge's Visitor Center and Humbug Marsh was an intergenerational event with children, parents, and grandparents. The tour started out in the visitor center where kids big and small learned about North America's only international wildlife refuge and got to see, feel, and interact with amazing hands-on and minds-on exhibits.

The tour then went outside where people walked the trails, learned about local flora and fauna, heard captivating nature stories from Ranger Todd, visited a bald eagle's nest designed for children, and pondered how Humbug Marsh and the adjacent Refuge Gateway were nearly lost to development 25 years ago. And of course, snacks were provided to all at the end of the wonderful tour.

"It was a beautiful night to be outside, explore Humbug Marsh, and learn from Ranger Todd" noted Pat Hartig, Vacation Bible School leader from St. Philip Lutheran Church. "A highlight of the tour was walking through upland habitats of Humbug Marsh and seeing the choreographed dance of dragonflies and purple martins overhead."

To learn more about the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, visit: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/det...

For more information about St. Philip Lutheran Church in Trenton visit: https://www.stphilipelca.com/. You can also find St. Philip on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stphiliplutheranelca.