Calvin Ecosystem Preserve & Native Gardens

The 100-acre preserve includes these features:

• 40 trailed acres open to the public to explore (includes mature deciduous forest, 13 ponds and vernal pools, and meadows),
• Buiten Wildlife Sanctuary (60 acres of wildlife refuge with restricted access, used for scientific research),
• Bunker Interpretive Center (used for Calvin University classes and community educational programs).

Over the past 28 years, the preserve has been a valuable resource for:

• An average of 6,000 visitors who enjoy our trails annually,
• Nearly 20 Calvin University departments/programs which study here annually,
• More than 500 Calvin students gaining valuable work and research experience as preserve employees,
• Over 23,000 elementary school students learning about plants and animals during our school programs,
• More than 600 children immersing themselves in nature at our Wetlands & Woodlands summer camps since 2000.

Despite all of this activity within its boundaries, the preserve remains a quiet, peaceful place for reflection and a habitat mostly untainted by human interaction. The Calvin Ecosystem Preserve & Native Gardens successfully brings together developed and undeveloped land, and demonstrates Calvin’s belief that it is important to care for God’s creation.

Did You Know?

The Calvin Ecosystem Preserve & Native Gardens provides habitat for 156 species of native plants, giving it a floristic quality index score of 45. This means its biodiversity makes the preserve a site of statewide significance and irreplaceable with current restoration techniques.

The Calvin Ecosystem Preserve & Native Gardens encompasses the watershed supplying the headwaters of a local stream, Whiskey Creek, which flows through Calvin's east campus. Whiskey Creek is the source of water for the Seminary Pond and a tributary of Plaster Creek.