Great Parks | Great Stories

Cabin fever setting in? Go take a hike and breathe in that fresh air. We list tips to help you protect yourself and your parks while enjoying the great outdoors.

How many wildflowers can you spy in your yard? Find out by completing this backyard challenge.

Winter is a quiet time in the Highfield Discovery Garden at Glenwood Gardens. Frogs wait patiently in the mud for warmer weather. The vegetables in the raised beds are all gone except for some hardy greens. We’re not greeted by buzzing bees or happy grasshoppers. However, if we take a walk down to the wetland […]

A surprising finding for some people is that there is a virtual supermarket living in your lawn. For centuries, Europeans collected food and herbs from lawn areas. Folklore tells us that at the shift in 18th century England, wealthy landowners chose not to eat the “commoner food” found in lawns, and shifted their lawn preferences to […]

A plant’s need for pollinators is as essential as our need for air and sunshine. Without them, this world would look much different. Pollinators play a crucial role in the sustainability of our ecosystem as well as being significant to our survival. The real work horses of the pollinator world are bees! Bees are without […]

Frog crafts, calls, games, hikes, observations, catching and displays – all things frog took over Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve during the month of May. Staff and volunteers take this time to celebrate the changing of the seasons, as amphibians of all kinds make themselves known. This past month, more than 600 children visited this small patch […]

Regional Trail to Connect Two Great Parks Finding opportunities to spend time together outside can often be hard for busy families. One solution is to replace a trip traditionally taken in a car with one along a trail. Trails are a healthier, safer and more enjoyable way to get from one place, or one park, […]

Signs of spring have been popping up the last few weeks. The sunshine, warming temperatures – even a short morning drizzle all have me daydreaming of the many miles of hiking and backpacking that lie ahead this year. I cannot wait to get my boots muddy! As an avid hiker and backpacker, I have had […]