From egg to adult: Monarch butterflies
LEAH CONWAY Seasonal Naturalist – Blacklick Woods The monarch butterfly may be the most famous of invertebrates here in the US — followed closely by the black widow spider and …Read More
From egg to adult: Two-lined salamander
LEAH CONWAY Blacklick Woods Seasonal Naturalist Two-lined salamanders are a common sight in Ohio streams and woodlands, if you know where and when to look. Most activity occurs the first …Read More
Foliage Frenzy!
MEGAN FLEISCHER, Inniswood Horticulturist Developing the next great garden theme for Inniswood’s seasonal displays is an on-going quest. I gather inspiration from obvious sources such as nursery catalogs and garden …Read More
Wander and Wonder: Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
Marvel at the bison grazing in their pastures, look for critters in the creek or listen to the water flow over the rocks. You can do it all at Battelle …Read More
Springtime brings new life to Slate Run Farm
DAVE TROTTER, Interpretive Aide Spring brings many changes to the farm. As the weather warms, the activity around the farm increases dramatically. The wheat planted last October is greening up …Read More
Give your kids a fantastic summer at a Metro Parks Camp
AUDREY ZIMMERMAN, Camp and Special Events Coordinator As skunk cabbage emerges and the frozen world around us begins to thaw into the renewing, greenish-brown, muddy season we call spring, our …Read More
Love is in the air…
SCOTT FELKER, Three Creeks Naturalist “Love is in the air…” Or on the ground and maybe in the water. As winter starts its slow ascent to spring, hormone levels in …Read More
Winter Fun with Kids at Five Metro Parks
JULIE MILLER, Guest Blogger With kids, I often think of summer as the time for hiking and exploring parks. When winter comes, I am inclined to hibernate instead. However, that …Read More
Happy birthday, Henry David Thoreau
Two hundred years ago, on July 12, 1817, Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts. This famous American author, transcendentalist, naturalist, political dissident and human rights advocate inspired the …Read More
World Snake Day: Celebrating Memaw and snakes around the globe
July 16 marks World Snake Day, a time to celebrate snakes and the vital roles they play in the ecosystem. The Metro Parks have several different snakes, including Memaw, a …Read More
The parks remove huge spreads of callery pear and other biological pollutants
If you hike the Mingo Trail at Scioto Grove Metro Park you will notice that many trees are being cut in the area. Visitors seem a little startled when they …Read More
Ancient earthwork found at Blacklick Woods
UPDATE, SEPT 22, 2017 On Sunday Sept 24, 2017, archaeologist Jared Burks will conduct a magnetic survey of the recently discovered earthwork at Blacklick Woods, using ground penetrating radar equipment …Read More
Friends of Metro Parks award “Tad Jeffrey Memorial Grants” to six parks
Friends of Metro Parks will again award grants to parks from the Tad Jeffrey Memorial Grants Fund. Last year, five were awarded inaugural Tad Jeffrey Memorial Grants to complete unique …Read More
HOUSES FOR FAIRIES, ELVES AND BUGS
Metro Parks educators are always trying to find new ways to engage our park visitors to utilize nature. Several years ago, a few naturalists read an article in the National …Read More
Augmented reality at the Winter Hikes
At the Highbanks Winter Hike (Sat February 11, 10am) and the Glacier Ridge Winter Hike (Sun February 12, 2pm), you can use a fantastic app to enhance your winter hike …Read More
Volunteers recognized for their invaluable contributions to Metro Parks
Metro Parks visitors take delight in many things they can see in the parks, whether that be a beautiful sunset or sunrise, a chance sighting of a deer or a …Read More
Wild animals need our care and attention on the roads
Earlier this week a couple of Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies alerted staff at Scioto Grove Metro Park about an injured barred owl along the roadway at Jackson Pike. Park staff …Read More
What’s in a name?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” In this famous line from Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2), William …Read More
Unbe-leaf-able Science
Fall is here and the leaves are changing colors right before our eyes. In just a few more weeks, the leaves will have fallen from the trees and winter will …Read More
The Haunted Forest Effect
The work of busy beech blight aphids While hiking along the many trails of our Metro Parks a mysterious substance can be discovered this time of year. As this mysterious …Read More