Carolyn Mayhew, Chairperson
12412 Jordan Lake Road Lake Odessa, MI 48849 Carrie Johnson, Vice-Chairperson 1429 Fourth Avenue Lake Odessa, MI 48849 Anne Nagi, Secretary 5872 N. Charlton Park Road Freeport, MI 49325 Joe Dahms, Trustee/Maintenance 6950 E. Vedder Road Lake Odessa, MI 48849 Heidi Reed, Trustee/Fund Raising 538 6th Avenue Lake Odessa, MI 48849 Suzanne Dahms, Trustee 6950 E. Vedder Road Lake Odessa, MI 48849 Freelance Member: Seth Wright, Mapping Technician 5698 Woodland Road Woodland, MI 48897 |
Imagine starting from home and, within a few blocks, getting on a trail system, that stretches for miles across our community, taking us as far as we want to go. Imagine our trail system passing through the Lakewood community, bringing not only healthful recreation, but also imagine a ribbon of green where trees tower, wildflowers bloom and wildlife flourishes. Imagine the children of our community having a safe place to bike, walk or rollerblade, surrounded by the natural resources they learn about in school.
Trailways are more than just a way to get from place to place. They are open to many modes of travel, they take you through the entire range of our community's environment including forests, wetlands, river and lake shorelines, farmlands, shopping areas, residential areas and even industrial areas....all free of charge and accessible to everyone. Lakewood School statistics show 46% of student enrollment is classified as disadvantaged. Although offering a form of recreation that is available to everyone, and not just a few team sport participants, is not quantitatively measurable in results, one can imagine how the opportunity to walk out their front door and be on a trail within a few minutes could open up a whole world of nature interest, art, sport and learning as well as making an alternative form of transportation available to those living below the poverty level. The Jordan Lake Trail is planned to encircle Jordan Lake, in the Lakewood School District of Barry and Ionia Counties. It will be available and beneficial to all ages, all economic levels, individuals, families and seniors alike, plus individuals with disabilities. Trailways are an inherent part of nature and thus build the connection between children and the land by highlighting the five senses of nature (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) plus giving them a healthy alternative recreation of walking, running, cycling, in-line skating, cross country skiing and snow shoeing. Trailways are natures classroom and promote serenity and peace and promotes health and wellness in the community. We are a non-profit organization of community citizens seeking this educational and healthy recreation opportunity and are depending entirely on personal, business and foundation donations and state and federal grants. The four phase project is approximately 8 linear miles in length and is estimated to cost $6,000,000 in it's entirety. Please help us to provide the youth, families and seniors of our community with this educational and healthy recreation opportunity. Any amount you or your business can help us with to this end, will be greatly appreciated. |