PHOTO COURTESY OF OTTAWA COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION
A $2.5 million gift from the Bill and Bea Idema Foundation will help advance the Ottawa Sands Master Plan in Ferrysburg, Michigan. Thanks to major donor funding, the Ottawa Country Parks & Recreation has begun a $5.2 million effort to begin several stages of the master plan within the 345-acre Ottawa Sands County Park, acquired in 2019.
“The Bill and Bea Idema Foundation has been a great supporter of connecting people with the natural world throughout West Michigan, including major support for the Idema Explorers Trail,” says Bobbi Jones Sabine, Ottawa County Parks Foundation president. “This is a truly transformational gift which will open Ottawa Sands to people of all abilities; it will create a whole new kind of experience along the Grand River Greenway, as well as allow for deeper exploration of the connected duneland corridor.”
The master plan includes site improvements and ecological restoration, reclamation and enhancements, and this latest gift will allow work to begin on the Idema Explorers Camp, which will include tent pads, a Tree House Village and a Yurt Village.
“Several studies of the Greenway and the water trails have highlighted the need for overnight accommodations to allow for 24-hour experiences of the river,” says Shamblin. “Knowing that Grand Rapids Whitewater will draw visitors from all over the country to this river, we want to ensure that welcoming public amenities and accommodations exist all along the river in West Michigan. Building the Idema Explorers Camp is a major step forward in supporting our local economy.”
To learn more, visit miottawa.org.
