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March 16, 2005
By JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
Staff writer
Q. How do you put a sand dune under a microscope?
A. One grain at a time.
That's just what college researchers will be doing on the Mount Pisgah sand dune near Holland State Park.
Professor Deanna van Dijk of Calvin College requested $5,000 from the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission
to study the activity of Mount Pisgah.
The commission, which was pleased by a similar study of dunes near Grand Haven by van Dijk and students, unanimously
approved the proposal.
Van Dijk is a professor with the Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies at Calvin College in Grand
Rapids.
John Scholtz, parks department manager, recommended the commission approve the request.
"I think it's a good idea. It's money well spent and it supports college students in their studies," said
Scholtz.
The dune study will be incorporated into the county's evolving master plan for what's known as the Park 12 properties
in Park Township.
"We need scientific credibility to hang our hat on, in order to make changes," Scholtz said, noting that
van Dijk is recognized as an expert in geology and environmental studies.
Preservation of the dune is one of the primary goals in the county's Park 12 plans.
Area native John Van Iwaarden sees the value of protecting Mount Pisgah.
"As I grew up, we've always known about the big sand dune at Ottawa Beach. It's an area that has historic value,"
Van Iwaarden said. He lives in Park Township and serves on the township's parks committee.
"The dune is a local landmark ... a treasure of our area. Preserving it in any way we can, in my estimation,
is a very good thing to do," he said.
A field survey of the dune will be completed to determine dune characteristics, current activity and human impacts.
Van Dijk and company will examine the dune during June, July and August. A Calvin College student under van Dijk's
supervision, junior Rob Vink of California, will carry out the bulk of the study. Sophomore Melinda Campbell of Saginaw will
provide occasional field assistance to Vink and van Dijk.
Janel Curry, a geographer at Calvin College, will provide consulting assistance.
The research will include examining grains of sand, with Calvin College lab facilities employed for the analysis.
The dune has suffered over the years from weather and human activity and the natural formation has been eroding.
The 185-foot dune is northeast of the state park. It lies between Lake Michigan and the state park campground, and
has lost about 30 feet of height over the years from visitors and campers walking up and down the face of the dune.
Preliminary plans call for stabilization work which has already begun with dune grass plantings restricted access
to the dune, signs and a fixed trail and boardwalk to keep people off the sand.
Van Dijk joined the faculty at Calvin College in 1999. Her research focuses on wind erosion in cold environments and
Lake Michigan coastal dunes.
From 2000 to the present, van Dijk, along with Calvin students, has been measuring rates of sediment transport by
wind and coastal dune change at a Lake Michigan field site in P.J. Hoffmaster State Park between Grand Haven and Muskegon.
Contact John Charles Robbins at (616) 546-4269 or john.robbins@hollandsentinel.com.
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