Seeing Spots
ELAINE HALL Assistant Resource Manager They’ve been in the news a lot recently, and for good reason. It’s the time of year to “Spot the Spot!” Spotted lanternfly (SLF) is …Read More
A Race against the Clock – Metro Parks’ Restoration Projects
ELAINE HALL AND LOGAN DUNN Assistant Resource Managers Resource Management at Metro Parks is deep in the throes of spring projects, including restoration. The first stage in our land management …Read More
Not all rivers are created equal
ELAINE HALL Assistant Resource Manager From lazy rivers that are deep, wide, slow and flat, to white water and small streams that are shallow, narrow, fast and rigid — not …Read More
Highlights from the Resource Management Annual Biotic Survey
ELAINE HALL Assistant Resource Manager Each year Metro Parks conducts a variety of biotic surveys throughout the district. You may catch a glimpse of staff and volunteers already out in …Read More
A Win for Native Plants
LOGAN DUNN Assistant Resource Manager For years, native plant enthusiasts and conservation minded individuals have adored sharing stories and photos of their gardens, prairies, forests and other landscapes. Lush with …Read More
Getting Salty as winter approaches… de-icing habits and impacts
OLIVIA GARAS Resource Management, North End Land Management Coordinator We are all familiar with the crisp cold air, blanket of snow and icy roadways that winter months in Ohio bring …Read More
Hellbenders are Real
ELAINE HALL Assistant Resource Manager Metro Parks staff recently attended an annual update about eastern hellbender conservation. As an endangered species in Ohio and having the small potential to pop …Read More
Goldenrods Galore!
ELAINE HALL Assistant Resource Manager Around this time every year, while growing up, the blooming seas of golden yellows always meant it was time to go back to school. Goldenrods …Read More
How low will they go?
ELAINE HALL Assistant Resource Manager Everyone secretly loves statistics. Especially record breaking statistics. During the Olympics we are hooked on whether an athlete is going to break a record, or …Read More
Pucker Up to Fishy Lips
ELAINE HALL Assistant Resource Manager/Darby Watershed Coordinator If you have had the chance to go fishing or kick seining, maybe even at a Metro Parks program, then you’ve probably come …Read More
Prairies in Bloom
IN OUR LATEST WANDER & WONDER VIDEO we take a look at some of the beautiful flowering prairies that add gorgeous colors to the summer heat and make a visit …Read More
May is American wetlands month
Our Wander & Wonder video explores the diverse habitats of the wetlands at Pickerington Ponds Metro Park, with its beautiful ponds surrounded by wildflowers and tall grasses. It’s a landscape …Read More
Tornado damages the Tall Pines Area at Walnut Woods
OLIVIA PIPER Resource Management Technician With recent stormy weather throughout Ohio, you may have noticed dramatic damage to some of the Metro Parks. One park in particular, Walnut Woods, experienced …Read More
Lesser Celandine – the foot soldiers of the plant world’s evil empire
OLIVIA PIPER Resource Management Technician From around late March to mid-April, you may notice a vibrant blanket of yellow along rivers, streams and forested floodplains. Although they are pretty, unfortunately, …Read More
The Metro Parks Strike Team attacks Bank Run
LOGAN DUNN Assistant Resource Manager What is a strike team, you may ask? Well, typically, each week Metro Parks staff members gather together at various parks around the park district …Read More
Wetland Winter Wonderland
LOGAN DUNN Assistant Resource Manager If you’ve ever walked around a wetland during the winter, you might have discovered the wonders of an ice-covered pool, and tried to imagine what …Read More
So Near, SONAR
Measuring the depths of our lakes and ponds ANDREW BOOSE Aquatic Ecologist If you have on any sort of park uniform and are standing next to one of the 60 …Read More
Where have all the dragons gone?
ANDREW BOOSE Aquatic Ecologist The weather cools, and the aerially acrobatic dragons exit. The dragons of the aquatic realm take up their hunting under the watery surface. Stealthily, lying in …Read More
Death of a Hedgerow
ANDREW BOOSE Aquatic Ecologist A 700-yard-long, 30-foot-wide hedgerow, at Prairie Oaks Metro Park, had been on the list for removal since the park opened in 2002. But it survived for …Read More
Can a tree tell time?
ANDREW BOOSE Aquatic Ecologist A familiar question often asked is, “How old do you think that tree is?” There are ways of getting a tree’s age. Now the use of …Read More