DTE Energy

Muskegon Service Center

Muskegon, Michigan, United States

Certified Silver through 2023

Project Name
Project Type
Mona Shores Middle School Pollinator Garden Partnership
Landscaped
Native Landscaping Project
Landscaped
Bat House Project
Bats
About the Program
The DTE Energy Muskegon Service Center is located close to Lake Michigan in Muskegon, Michigan. The team there manages two landscaped projects in accordance with Michigan Pollinator Initiatives "Protection Plan" for pollinators, which includes eliminating or limiting pesticide use, as well as guidance for gardening for pollinators and other resources. Additionally, the Muskegon Service Center has installed bat boxes to provide shelter for a variety of native bats and is initiating a project to provide nesting habitat for endangered piping plovers.

Practices and Impacts
  • Muskegon Service Center contains 4,000 square feet of on-site rain gardens composed of native plants installed and monitored by employees.  By using water-tolerant and upland plants to function as a rain garden when flooding occurs, the team allows for soil retention and water drainage while also attracting pollinators through its native vegetation.
  • Additional native landscaped pollinator gardens were installed at Mona Shores Middle School to address the school's desire to teach students about the importance of pollinators. Muskegon Service Center employees designed and installed the gardens using native plants that meet the needs of local butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Educational signs within the gardens allow students, teachers and visitors to learn about the importance of these species. 
  • Bat boxes located in the vicinity of the on-site native landscaping project are used to attract bat species native to Michigan that use artificial structures for roosting and raising their young. Target species include the big brown bat, little brown bat, Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat. The design and construction of the bat boxes was achieved through a partnership with General Motors. The boxes are made of battery covers from Chevy Volt vehicles, reducing the number of these battery covers in landfills. Boxes are monitored, and maintenance needs are assessed, two times per year.
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