Make a list of some of the most endangered animals on the planet and the first that come to mind might be large mammals like tigers, rhinoceroses and gorillas. However, some lowly mollusks should be on the list. Mussels are some of the most endangered animals in not only Ohio, but also the country. Approximately […]

“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” ― Chinese proverb Each September for the last several years, Great Parks of Hamilton County has taken part in a truly outstanding nationwide event. National Public Lands Day was started by the National Environmental Education Foundation in 1994, […]

On the corner of Riddle Road and Springfield Pike, a sliver of Glenwood Gardens is nestled in among the neighbors of the City of Woodlawn. With the Mill Creek winding through it, it has the potential to host a variety of wildlife and wildflowers in the midst of a quick-moving urban environment. Throughout the years, […]

Recently I had the opportunity to walk The Vineyard Golf Course with Great Parks’ landscape manager Jerry Frankenhoff and Woodland Mound’s assistant park manager Jason Rahe. Jerry made our mission clear before we even stepped foot on the first hole: we were to assess each one of the treated ash trees on the course – […]

As I bundled up for the cold blast of air descending upon us this week, my thoughts wandered to a most remarkable feathered friend, the golden-crowned kinglet. Only slightly larger than a hummingbird, it weighs in at one-fifth of an ounce (or two pennies), and it is a common winter visitor to Ohio. Some overwinter as […]

Last weekend, I headed out to the Shaker Trace Trail at Miami Whitewater Forest to get some photos of my favorite prairie flower that’s currently in bloom: royal catchfly. Around the 4-mile marker, I thought I hit the jackpot. I snapped pictures of different types of coneflower, milkweed and wild bergamot…but no royal catchfly. Riding […]

The impact that the emerald ash borer (EAB) has had on our forests and landscapes is painfully obvious, even to a casual observer. This tiny bug is responsible for many of the dead spots you can now see in our local canopy. Not surprisingly, a significant amount of Great Parks’ resources in recent years has […]

For some it may be difficult to remember the exact moment that shaped their career choice, but for me it was in the third grade. It was during a reading of Dr. Seuss’s book The Lorax that I realized my calling to try to make the world a better place. For those of you unfamiliar […]