My Favorite Places: Three Creeks and Scioto Grove
GEOFF HAMILTON, Scioto Grove Manager The south canoe access area at Three Creeks is one of my favorite areas to fish. I haven’t caught a lot of fish there, but …Read More
My Favorite Places: Walden Waterfowl Refuge
BRANDON NOVOTNY, Prairie Oaks Ranger The Walden Waterfowl Refuge at Blendon Woods qualifies as one of my favorite places, especially in late September and early October when waterfowl start to …Read More
My Favorite Places: memories of Slate Run
ANDREA KRAVA, Blendon Woods Naturalist The wetlands and grasslands at Slate Run have always been a favorite place of mine. They opened up the same year I began working there …Read More
Senior Camp is a blast at Blacklick Woods
CARRIE KELLER Outreach Naturalist For nearly three weeks every fall about 700 of our more seasoned Central Ohio citizens pass through the gates at Blacklick Woods to enjoy a day …Read More
My Favorite Place: Prairie seed picking
CARRIE R MORROW Assistant Resource Manager Shorter days and cooler nights may be the first signs of fall. However, it isn’t truly autumn until I have spent a few days …Read More
My favorite place: Stunning downtown views at Scioto Audubon’s bocce ball courts
CHRISTOPHER DELGROSSO Assistant Manager, Scioto Audubon As summer bows its head and awaits the arrival of fall there is a magical transformation that takes place at Scioto Audubon Metro Park. …Read More
Plein Air art society enjoys a Paint Out at Inniswood
A group of very talented artists unpacked their paints, brushes and canvases at Inniswood Metro Gardens recently. All of them are members of the Ohio Plein Air Society, and they …Read More
We’re Buckeyes because…
CODY BERKEBILE Blacklick Woods Naturalist Now that football season is here, Ohioans turn their focus to The Ohio State Buckeyes. Living in Columbus, it is impossible to ignore the barrage of …Read More
How to grow a butterfly
It’s that time of year when monarch butterflies begin their magical migration south to the mountains of Mexico, where they’ll spend the winter. I’ve been seeing monarch butterflies in the …Read More
Friday Night Floaters
The sun shone brightly on Sharon Woods’ 11-acre Schrock Lake as its recent Friday Night Float program began. Eager canoeists, many of them first-timers, signed-on for a 20-minute float around …Read More
Hellbenders make a splash as they return to Big Darby Creek
Eastern hellbenders found a new home in Big Darby Creek in August. More than 80 of these impressively sized creatures, the largest species of amphibian in Ohio and one of …Read More
Winter blues spark Metro Parks adventures
On a drab winter night, Scott Ballard, 49, contemplated what he would do for the rest of the year. He certainly didn’t want to spend it inside doing little or …Read More
Insects make for delicious and nutritious fare
Blacklick Woods Metro Park is offering a delightful program for food lovers with a taste for something new and exotic. Join us at the nature center on Sunday August 20, …Read More
It’s always Dog Days at Prairie Oak—but especially at WAG!
BARK BASH – August 24, 2024 Bark Bash is the super-duper event of the summer for you and your canine friends. The inaugural Bark Bash replaces the cancelled WAG! Fest …Read More
Visiting the parks: Blacklick Woods, an urban retreat
Just like the citizens of Central Ohio, Metro Parks are a wide-ranging lot, offering everything from herb gardens to strenuous hikes for the 10-million people who visit them annually. In …Read More
It’s threshing time
A golden, ripe wheat field is a beautiful sight and its appearance in July means it is grain threshing season on the farm. At Metro Parks’ Slate Run Living Historical …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
Butterflies of the Night
Butterflies get all the attention. They’re pretty, and they fly during the day when us fellow day-dwellers are likely to actually see them. Moths, on the other hand, are mostly …Read More
Archery in 3D makes its bow at Scioto Grove
A new facility for the Robin Hoods and archers among us has just opened at Scioto Grove Metro Park. The new feature is actually two separate archery courses. The first …Read More