Earlier in the summer, we at Great Parks said goodbye to our old friend and co-worker, Missy. Missy was responsible for training nature interpreters to work with birds of prey and teaching children the importance of a healthy ecosystem. She interacted with well over 50,000 people in her 32-year tenure with Great Parks. Missy wasn’t […]

    Native to Ohio and found along shady hillsides, the pawpaw tree (Asimina triloba) will soon begin producing its highly sought-after fruit. The pawpaw fruit is unique, as it’s one of the only large native fruits in the Midwest, and can often be found in great abundance ­– if one knows where to search. […]

As August ends and the warm weather persits, home gardens are still going full throttle. The cute, little tomato, cucumber and zucchini plants I optimistically tucked into the ground in the spring have exceeded all my expectations, and are beginning to overwhelm my kitchen and pantry. (Despite years of gardening for a family of three, […]

It may not be an official holiday, but September 6 is a holiday for bibliophiles: National Read a Book Day. Of course, every day is a great day to read a book! But, in honor of this novel holiday and celebrating the remaining days of summer, here are favorites, classics and new reading recommendations from the Great […]

More than 360 anglers competed in the six Bass Series Tournaments in 2018. Only the top 20 earned a spot in the Bass Series Championship, where the winners would be awarded a $1,000 shopping spree to Bass Pro Shops. This was a two-day tournament. Day one was at Miami Whitewater Forest on August 25. Every […]

As the early settlers of the U.S. forged westward, their main priority was finding a place to call home. However, as they began to inhabit our country, not only did they affect the animals who lived here first, they affected where these creatures lived. The natural predators that called Ohio’s landscape home – the black […]

If you’ve spent any time at Winton Woods Campground this summer, you may have witnessed a rather unnerving site. Just as the sun is setting and daylight begins to fade, large birds with a six-foot wingspan glide in and cover the trees. A closer look reveals huge wings, a naked head and a razor sharp […]

The newest addition to our Great Parks’ animal ambassador team is an eastern screech owl (Megascops asio). As such a new member to our team, she doesn’t have a name yet. However, this particular owl has an injury to the retina in her left eye, rendering her blind, and thereby not able to survive in […]