Carmen Kopen and Winnie Kopen, 6, pick blueberries on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.
They carried plastic bags, blue buckets, flowerpots and orange trick-or-treat pumpkins with one goal in mind – fill them with blueberries at Huyser Farm Park on Monday, July 22, 2024.
About 20 people plucked the fruit during the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” outing at the park, 4188 64th St. run by the Outdoor Discovery Center and sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.
Tom Funk, naturalist with the Outdoor Discovery Center, shared the history of the 102-acre park with participants, adding that the blueberry fields are not sprayed with pesticides.
Michigan State University uses the 6.5 acres of blueberry bushes for research because the field has not been treated with chemicals.
Funk urged participants to collect the berries, use them in muffins or just snack on them.
Kelsey Lenhart puts blueberries in the bucket of Alden, 3, while Hazel, 5, picks them from the bushes on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.
“We’ll see how many we get,” Kelsey Lenhart told her 3-year-old son, Alden, who wanted to fill his bucket with the blueberries. “We’ll probably end up eating them all.”
The park is open from dawn until dusk and open to anyone to pick blueberries as long as the berries last.
Evan lifts CJ up high to pick blueberries on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.
Programs
The Outdoor Discovery Center and township team up for programs throughout the year.
Nicole Chastagner of Park Township picks berries on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.Kelsey Lenhart snaps photos of her son Alden, 3, while he eats blueberries on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.Emma picks berries on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.Winnie Kopen, 6, tastes freshly picked blueberries on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.Carmen Kopen and Winnie Kopen, 6, pick blueberries on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.Participants carry loaded containers through the fields on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.Blueberries are still ripening on Monday, July 22, 2024, at Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St., as part of the free “Blueberry Fields Forever” program with the Outdoor Discovery Center sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.
