LAKE CITY â The week before the annual seedling sale organized by the Missaukee Conservation District is always a little hectic.
On Tuesday, program coordinator Michelle Hill oversaw the packaging of dozens of seedlings already on site while also performing other duties at the conservation district and dealing with the unexpected early arrival of another large seedling load.
This year, the conservation district ordered around 25,000 seedlings to fill a little over 160 orders, which is a pretty busy year, especially compared to last year. This year people are buying like crazy, Hill said. Everyone wanted conifers.
Every spring, the conservation district orders seedlings from nurseries all over Michigan and elsewhere, which they then package and distribute to customers in Missaukee County. Hill said being a one-stop shop for a variety of different tree and shrub species is very convenient for customers who otherwise would have to order themselves directly from several diff