|
-
Come join us for a fun and rewarding experience!
This volunteer opportunity is FREE, but you must register to attend and commit to working unless ill.
OFFSITE: Food Gatherers Facility, 1 Carrot Way, Ann Arbor
Time: 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
This tour is limited to 20 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this event. This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
Food Gatherers exists to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes in our community. Established in 1998 as Michigan’s first food rescue program and the sixth in the United States, Food Gatherers is the first food rescue program to be funded by a for-profit business, Zingerman’s Delicatessen. Food Gatherers rescues several tons of food daily that volunteers help process, inspect, and sort.
NOTE #1: The professional staff at Food Gatherers know we are primarily seniors and will not ask our volunteers to move or lift heavy items. The shift does involve being on your feet for two hours. Our specific assignment depends on what they have on hand that day, so let's be prepared. Food Gatherers depends on our volunteers when we make a commitment, so please make every effort to attend and work the Elderwise Learning shift.
NOTE #2: Volunteers must wear sensible closed-toed shoes (no sandals) and shirts with t-shirt length sleeves or longer. A head covering (hat, beanie, bandana, etc.) is required for most tasks. Hairnets will be provided if you need one. You may be in the Green Room which is temperature controlled around 50 degrees F, so it’s a good idea to bring an extra layer such as a sweatshirt or a coat. Also, keep in mind you may be working with open food, and things can get a bit messy. If you are wearing clothing that does not comply with these guidelines, you will not be able to volunteer.
REQUIRED: A Group Member Volunteer Waiver Form and more information will be sent to all registrants a few days prior to the tour. Please bring the form with you when you come to volunteer. Please be on time with your waivers filled out. If you decide to fill out a waiver on site, please arrive a few minutes early to do so. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the event.
-
Fee: $0.00
-
Instructor(s): Professional Staff Food Gatherers
-
Dates: 9/14/2026 - 9/14/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
-
Sessions: 1
Days: M
-
Building: Offsite
Room: Food Gatherers Facility, Ann Arbor
-
-
Return to Home Page
|
|
|
|
-
- This class has reached the enrollment limit. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
OFFSITE TOUR: Tour site location TBA
This tour is limited to 12 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise Learning office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class.
This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
Connected to Washtenaw County’s Border-to-Border Trail, new trails through the natural areas of the Trinity Health property offer access to woods that have recently been cleared of invasive shrubs. These open woods are situated on a bluff above the Huron River, where we will find some fall-blooming wildflowers, including the tall yellow flowered wing-stem. The adjacent open areas promise a good complement of goldenrods, along with purple and white flowered asters. Beverly Walters has experience both as a field botanist and a Museum Collections Manager at the University of Michigan Herbarium. Now retired, she helps maintain and improve the Herbarium's Michigan Flora Online website (https://michiganflora.net), a popular resource for plant identification. Bev pursued her botanical studies at Michigan State University. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour. IMPORTANT NOTE: The new trails, though broad and fairly level, are unpaved and uneven in places, and may be difficult for those with walking challenges. This tour is not recommended for people with canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and those who have mobility limitations.
-
Fee: $20.00
-
Instructor: Beverly Walters
Capacity Remaining: -2
-
Dates: 9/18/2026 - 9/18/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
-
Sessions: 1
Days: F
-
Building: Offsite
Room: Trinity Health Ann Arbor Campus Natural Areas
-
-
Return to Home Page
|
|
|
|
-
OFFSITE: County Farm Park, Medford Parking Lot.
The Country Farm parking lot and pedestrian entrance on Medford Road is located near 2201 Medford Road, Ann Arbor.
This secondary entrance is situated just south of Manchester Road and provides direct, convenient access to the Medford Pavillion and Britton Woods
This tour is limited to 15 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class.
This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
The therapeutic benefits of immersing oneself in nature are too numerous to name, but relaxation, connection, and refueling are three of the most powerful. The art of Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, is the art of steeping yourself in the atmosphere of the forest, focusing on each of the five senses one at a time. Join naturalist Elle Bogle and mindfulness instructor Julie Woodward for a mindfulness hike through County Farm Park. This will be a slow, quiet walk focusing on communing with nature, and will include pauses for group reflection. Along the way, we will gather beautiful, found objects and experiences which we will then use to create a nature craft. This hike will last approximately 90 minutes, with 30 minutes at the end for creating our nature project. Elle Bogle is a passionate outdoor educator and adventurer who takes pride in connecting people with the beauty of nature. She worked as a naturalist with WCPARC for seven years, and is currently an environmental specialist with the Ann Arbor Public Schools where she has been teaching for nine years, an educator with the Ecology Center, and offers freelance naturalist services through her Wild Wander business. Her specialties include amphibians, reptiles, dragonflies, and mindfulness in nature. Julie Woodward, MA, MSW, RYT-200, is a wellness coach, yoga and meditation teacher, and facilitator of The Work That Reconnects. Through mindfulness hikes and resilience-based programs, she helps people cultivate well-being and deepen their connection with nature. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the hike. IMPORTANT NOTE: This tour is not recommended for people with canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and those who have mobility limitations.
-
Fee: $20.00
-
Instructor(s): Elle Bogle
-
Dates: 9/25/2026 - 9/25/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
-
Sessions: 1
Days: F
-
Building: Offsite
Room: Country Farm Park
-
-
Return to Home Page
|
|
|
|
-
- This class has reached the enrollment limit. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
OFFSITE: Janice Anschuetz Highland Preserve, 325 Clark Road, Ypsilanti
This tour is limited to 12 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class.
This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
The Janice Anschuetz Highland Preserve is “a birder’s paradise” (over 118 species seen) with a diverse dense canopy of mature trees. There is a boardwalk, over 200 feet long, that reaches an elevation of nearly ten feet above the ground at its highest point. The Preserve encompasses 75 acres. Tom Friedlander is a retired University of Michigan trained tree-and-shrub taxonomist who spent 38 years teaching and coaching at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour. IMPORTANT NOTE: This tour is not recommended for people with canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and those who have mobility limitations.
-
Fee: $20.00
-
Instructor: Tom Friedlander
Capacity Remaining: 0
-
Dates: 9/28/2026 - 9/28/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
-
Sessions: 1
Days: M
-
Building: Offsite
Room: Janice Anschuetz Highland Preserve, Ypsilanti
-
-
Return to Home Page
|
|
|
|
-
OFFSITE: Friend-Hack House Museum, 775 County Street, Milan
Join us as we tour the beautiful 135-year-old Friend-Hack House Museum in Milan, Michigan, also known as the “House that Sugar Built.” Retired teacher and former president of the Milan Area Historical Society, Anne Farmer will lead us through the house and tell us the story of:
A Friend – the woman who had the house built
A Fraud – the scandalous story of where the construction money came from
A Founding Family – going back to Bethuel Hack, one of the original founders of Milan
This lovely home, built in 1888, is now listed with the National Register of Historic Places. After the house tour, participants will be free to wander the property and go through the outbuildings, including the three-hole outhouse that had a unique flushing system. And, hopefully, the beekeeper will be available to show you the site’s working hive of honeybees, which has a permanent home and display in the aviary building. Anne Farmer holds a B.S. degree in elementary education and an M.A. degree in special education. Prior to retirement, she taught in the Milan school system for 26 years. She is a long-time member of the Milan Garden Club, whose members maintain the Hack House gardens. Anne has been active in the Milan Area Historical Society for more than 18 years and recently stepped down after serving as president for 14 years. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour. Special Note: The house is not fully accessible. Please contact the Elderwise Learning office with any questions, espcially if you use a wheelchair. Thank you.
-
Fee: $20.00
-
Instructor(s): Anne Farmer
-
Dates: 10/2/2026 - 10/2/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
-
Sessions: 1
Days: F
-
Building: Offsite
Room: Friend-Hack House Museum, Milan
-
-
Return to Home Page
|
|
|
|
-
OFFSITE: Tom A. Freeman Preserve, Ann Arbor (North Entrance on Ford Road)
This tour is limited to 12 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class.
This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
The Tom A. Freeman Preserve is mainly forested, with many beautiful mature trees, and has considerable topographic variation. There are wetlands and a creek (Kirk’s Brook), and the trails can be muddy, with a few creek crossings on muddy logs. The Preserve itself includes 71 acres, with much more land in the nearby Horner-McLaughlin Woods on the north, and in the Marshall Nature Area on the east. Tom Friedlander is a retired University of Michigan trained tree-and-shrub taxonomist who spent 38 years teaching and coaching at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour. IMPORTANT NOTE: This tour is not recommended for people with canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and those who have mobility limitations.
-
Fee: $20.00
-
Instructor(s): Tom Friedlander
-
Dates: 10/9/2026 - 10/9/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
-
Sessions: 1
Days: F
-
Building: Offsite
Room: Tom A. Freeman Preserve
-
-
Return to Home Page
|
|
|
|
|