In 2013, Great Parks began a park-wide assessment of habitat quality through plant surveys. FQAI, short for Floristic Quality Assessment Index, allows us to compare habitats in different parks, as well as to other preserves…
The Great Parks of Hamilton County landscape department has partnered with the Diamond Oaks horticulture program for several years. The early periods of this partnership involved the horticulture program producing plants for Great Parks. We…
With cold temperatures, bad weather and other challenges that come with winter, it can be hard to get motivated to get outside. However, if you can muster the strength to do so, you may find…
While we may not get snow during the holidays, you can still find reminders of the season outdoors. Just recently Stewardship staff found this American holly tree (Ilex opaca) along the Parcours trail at Triple…
There are many fall edibles that we often take for granted or don’t even realize. During the end of summer to early fall, I begin to go in search of some of these wonderful edible…
The Stewardship Department really knows the parks inside and out. They’re almost always out in the field collecting water samples, conducting plant surveys, tracking native species or any number of behind-the-scenes conservation activities. As the…
“Oh nuts!” said the wild turkey. “There are only half as many acorns as last year.” While 2013 yielded a bountiful black walnut, hickory nut and beech nut crop in our area, acorn production is…
If you’ve been to Sharon Woods lately, you may have noticed that the lake looks a little different than usual thanks to one of the smallest flowering plants in the world: duckweed. Duckweed (Lemna minor)…