Whitehouse Nature Center

A state MiSTEM grant is facilitating new K-5 lessons to be introduced in 2023.

Accompanying a large increase in the number of student workers is the creation of five distinct career tracks for more focused experiential learning.

Albion College students have been tramping through the wilds of Whitehouse Nature Center in recent weeks removing destructive “mile-a-minute” weeds with an understanding that the work they do now will provide a long-lasting benefit. Said one student worker: “To preserve something for people years from now I think is really important.”

A pair of Eastern box turtles named Sid and Nancy, who have called Whitehouse Nature Center home for years, have had a long and tempestuous relationship. But in February Nancy laid eggs, and in March, against the odds, one hatched. “This is kind of a big deal,” said Center Director Jason Raddatz.

Jason Raddatz, ’91, has worked as a nurse, a fund accountant, a marketing coordinator, a card dealer and a professional musician. But he truly loves education and his lifelong devotion to nature, and he gets to combine both as the new director of Albion College’s Whitehouse Nature Center.

Albion College will host “RiverTalk Albion: Connecting the Kalamazoo River Community,” one of two community conversations centered on linking resources, lives and livelihoods to the river, which remains a valuable and vital part of Michigan. It will be held February 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Ludington Center.

There is something about the natural world that has always spoken to Nicole Wood. So when the opportunity arose to become director of the Whitehouse Nature Center, she jumped at the opportunity. Now she wants the center, tucked away just off campus, to find a new identity.

“As a Michigan native and Albion graduate, I am very excited to bring our talented educators and their wildlife-centered curricula to benefit teachers from all over the state,” says Stuart, president of the Foundation for San Diego Zoo Global, which is presenting a conservation-science workshop for 32 sixth- through 12th-grade Michigan teachers July 30 to Aug. 2 at Albion College. Among the participants is Detroit math and science teacher Rolanda Matthews, ’92.