PAST FIELD TRIP REPORTS
ONAPA Member Tour of Ohio's Heritage Garden at the Governor's Residence
Lead by former First Lady, Hope Taft and ONAPA President, Guy Denny
May 31, 2016
About the Heritage Garden . . . The idea of the Heritage Garden was first conceived in 2000 as a way to showcase Ohio's natural history and environment to the thousands of yearly visitors to the Governor’s Residence. Then First Lady Hope Taft secured the donated services of a landscape architect and garden designer who developed a master plan that not only highlights the five physiographic regions of the state but also enhances the Jacobean revival architecture of the home and highlights Ohio botanists and hybridizers. The AIA award-winning design of the garden now creates areas in the yard that in true Tudor fashion look more like natural habitats the greater their distance from the residence. With the help of master gardeners, arboreta, nurseries, universities, state departments, garden clubs and many friends, implementation began in the spring of 2001. Learn more . . .
Member Wild Flower Expedition to the Upper Penninsula of Michigan
This past July, ONAPA conducted its very first several day-long out-of-state field trip. Our adventure took 20 intrepid participants north to explore the peatlands, bogs and fens, of Hiawatha National Forest within the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Bogs and fens are very rare and special ecosystems in Ohio where they occur as living relicts of the last Ice Age. Many are designated state nature preserves. In northern Michigan, we are far enough north that they are a fairly common component of the Boreal Forest landscape. Here we can explore them in order to get a better understanding of and appreciation for the few remaining ones we have in Ohio. In addition to exploring the peatlands within Hiawatha National Forest, we also visited Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along Lake Superior and Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Allison Cusick, retired Chief Botanist for DNAP and now a resident of Pittsburgh, came along as a participant, but actually help lead the trip. Allison is planning some future ONAPA field trips to some of his favorite botanical spots in Maryland and West Virginia. Information will be posted in the newsletter and at onapa.org as it becomes available.
Canoe Paddle on Bass Lake
ONAPA trout talk with Geauga Park District biologist Paul Pira.
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Despite the ominous weather report for June 21st, ONAPA’s morning at Geauga Park District’s Bass Lake Preserve and adjacent Spring Brook State Nature Preserve went unscathed by rain. With one sweep of the seine net, 15 native Ohio brook trout were caught by GPD Naturalist Dan Best and GPD Biologist Paul Pira. Except for a 5” specimen, the trout were in the 2-2.5” one year age class. |
Ohio native brook trout
Spring Brook is remarkable for having harbored brook trout into the 21st Century owing to the permeable Sharon Conglomerate bedrock, stream bed of quartz pebbles weather out of the conglomerate combined with glacial gravels, the high amount of precipitation in the heart of NE Ohio’s snowbelt that provide cold spring water to the stream. This, long with a suitable pH, high dissolved oxygen content and other favorable factors of water chemistry, not to mention the protective attitude of the Bass Lake residential community, all combine to provide this wonderful sanctuary for Ohio’s only know native population (verified by genetic testing) brook trout. These and other aspects of brook trout ecology were explained by Dan and Paul in a brief talk following netting.
By mid-morning, the group embarked on a canoe float on Bass Lake, a natural glacial lake born of the Ice Age. The lake’s natural as well as cultural history as a late 1800’s hotel and vacation spot were described with vintage photographs. The highlight of the float was the viewing of the pair of bald eagles perched nearby each other. Bass Lake has been the site of an eagle nest for 15 years and the birds are well accustomed to admiring humans.
ONAPA’s outing preceeded the afternoon’s Paddle Ohio venture put on by ODNR’s Division of Watercraft’s Scenic River program (Scenic Rivers were originally housed within the ODNR Div. of Natural Areas & Preserves) in collaboration with Geauga Park District.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to host an ONAPA field trip. Geauga Park District looks forward to hosting future ONAPA outings, perhaps a canoe float on Lake Kelso, a glacial kettle lake surrounded by a bog, at the Burton Wetlands State Nature Preserve under Geauga Park District management.
By mid-morning, the group embarked on a canoe float on Bass Lake, a natural glacial lake born of the Ice Age. The lake’s natural as well as cultural history as a late 1800’s hotel and vacation spot were described with vintage photographs. The highlight of the float was the viewing of the pair of bald eagles perched nearby each other. Bass Lake has been the site of an eagle nest for 15 years and the birds are well accustomed to admiring humans.
ONAPA’s outing preceeded the afternoon’s Paddle Ohio venture put on by ODNR’s Division of Watercraft’s Scenic River program (Scenic Rivers were originally housed within the ODNR Div. of Natural Areas & Preserves) in collaboration with Geauga Park District.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to host an ONAPA field trip. Geauga Park District looks forward to hosting future ONAPA outings, perhaps a canoe float on Lake Kelso, a glacial kettle lake surrounded by a bog, at the Burton Wetlands State Nature Preserve under Geauga Park District management.
Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Darby Plains
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The dragonfly and damselfly expedition on a pleasant and breezy Saturday, July 26, 2014, was a resounding success. About two dozen people were present for the event. The trip leaders were Dr. Jim Davidson, Guy Denny, and Cheryl Harner. Everyone was mesmerized by the color, beauty, and diversity of these fascinating, flying insects. We immersed ourselves in the habitats in which they live. Wading in Big Darby Creek to get up-close views of the energetic odonates was a highlight of the day. Some of the dragons and damsels even posed long enough to have their portraits taken.
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