Sierra Club Huron Valley Group

Please join us to hear chemist and Sierra Club Huron Valley chair Stephen Colby Brown discuss two major environmental threats:

PFAS, a generic term for “Per- and Poly-Fluorinated Alkyl Substances”, also called “Forever Chemicals”, have been released into the environment for 80 years through fire-fighting foams, industrial activities, and even common consumer products such as toilet paper. These chemicals have widely contaminated air, waters, and soils worldwide and have been circulating in the food supply for decades. Even at parts-per-trillion concentrations in water and food, they can raise cholesterol and suppress immune system development in young children.

Micro- and Nano-Plastics are also distributed worldwide and are increasing exponentially in the environment, matching the production of plastics. They are inhaled and ingested and have been found to infiltrate many organs such as the brain, placenta, and endocrine tissues. They are likely already causing morbidities in both humans and wildlife, and are also almost impossible to remove from living bodies.

About our Speaker: Stephen Colby Brown has a doctorate in pharmaceutical chemistry from UC San Francisco and serves as chair of the Sierra Club Huron Valley Group. For the past nine years he has served on the nationwide Sierra Club Grassroots Network PFAS Team, which measures PFAS in water around the country, counsels communities on dealing with contamination, and works to elect candidates who understand what is at stake.

This is NOT an in-person event.

These Exercise Guides are intended to assist and encourage exploration of parks and natural areas in the Huron Valley Group region. Please enjoy them on your own or with others.

This hike spans three of Ann Arbor's premier parks, over glacial hills and the Huron River, right in town. Park in the Barton Nature Area/Barton Dam parking lot on Huron River drive, then cross the road and head uphill into Bird Hills. You'll travel over the glacial hills of Bird Hills and Kuebler Langford, then cross the pedestrian bridge over the Huron River to Barton Nature Area in the Huron River flood plain and finish by walking across the top of the Barton Dam (another pedestrian bridge allows you to avoid the dam if you prefer).

Expect lots of hills through Bird and Kuebler, a fair bit of wet in Barton. With luck, and alertness, you might see a Great Blue Heron along the Huron, or maybe a Red-tailed Hawk or Great Horned Owl. And you're guaranteed many picturesque views along the way (like the one above, overlooking the Huron River and Huron River Drive from Bird Hills).

Our basic route (yellow path on 2nd map below) is a 3.4-mile hike with about 500' of gross elevation gain. Add the green loop in Bird Hills for an extra 1.7 miles and 300' of elevation. The green loop in Kuebler adds 0.6 miles and 130' of elevation gain.

Like many of Ann Arbor's city parks and nature areas, the trails are excellent, with lots of intersections. This makes them good place to practice navigating in woods - they are small with clear boundaries, so getting lost isn't a concern. But getting misdirected is an enjoyable possibility - stay calm, listen for traffic or the river, and enjoy your wanderings.

https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/huron-valley