Community BioBlitz Opportunity
with The Wilderness Center
Where:
Lash Bog State Nat Preserve
Date/Time: Friday, June 20th: 8am-4pm
Registration is Required
For bioblitz information, contact email, and to register through The Wilderness Center website, click link below:
The Wilderness Center events
For additional information:
click here
Everyone and all skill levels are welcome!
Join in for a fun-filled day documenting the incredible
variety of plants, animals, and other living things that
call this unique place home.
Please come with your preferred exploration tools, binoculars, waders, cameras, etc.
Terrain includes wetlands with shallow to chest-deep water, small streams, reforested uplands, and does not include maintained trails.
Important!! Due to parking limitations, meet at The Wilderness Center Interpretive Building (9877 Alabama Ave. SW, Wilmot, OH 44689) and carpool 3.5 miles to the site.
If you have any questions: Contact Daniel Volk, Director of Conservation & Land Management at The Wilderness Center, at 330-359-5235 ext. 221 or his email.
Compass plant, Silphium laciniatum, The Wilderness Center, Stark County 12 August 2017, Lisa K. Schlag
Aldo Leopold wrote in A Sand County Almanac, "Silphium first became a personality to me when I tried to dig one up to move to my farm. It was like digging an oak sapling. After half an hour of hot grimy labor the root was still enlarging,... I got no Silphium, but I learned by what elaborate stratagems it contrives to weather the prairie droughts."
Seedbox, Ludwigia alternifolia, Veterans Memorial Park, Lake County 17 August 2017, Lisa K. Schlag
Gray hairstreak butterfly perching on gray-headed coneflower, Ratibida pinnata, The Wilderness Center, Stark County 15 July 2017, Lisa K. Schlag
This Ohio native plant has many common names: gray-headed coneflower, gray-head prairie coneflower, yellow coneflower .... The USDA Plants database recognizes only pinnate prairie coneflower as a common name. For more information: USDA Plants Fact Sheet
Downy rattlesnake plantain, Gooyera pubescens, Hiram Township private property, Portage County 10 August 2017, Lisa K. Schlag
Note: the cylindrical arrangement of the upward-blooming flowers along the densely woolly stem is not one-sided or spiral-twisted. For more information: USDA Plants Database and USDA Plants Fact Sheet
Downy rattlesnake plantain, Gooyera pubescens, Hiram Township private property, Portage County 22 July 2017, Lisa K. Schlag
Native red lady beetle or polished lady beetle, Cycloneda munda, observed on underside of leaf of wingstem, Actinomeris alternifolia, Vermilion River Reservation - Bacon Woods, Erie County 27 July 2017, Lisa K. Schlag
Wood nettle, Laportea canadensis, Vermilion River Reservation - Bacon Woods, Erie County 27 July 2017, Lisa K. Schlag
Wood nettle is native to Ohio and is the only nettle with alternate leaves according to Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Wood nettle has stiff stinging hairs covering the stem, leaf petiole, and leaf underside. Similar to stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, in this regard; however, stinging nettle is not native and has opposite leaves.
Society Notes Post:
Celebrating Earth Day 2025 in April
NPSNEO was invited to participate in two Earth Festivals.
Join in on the festivities!
Kent State University Earth Fest
Wednesday, April 23rd: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Kent Student Center -- Risman Plaza
1075 Risman Dr, Kent 44242
City of Mentor Earth Fest
Sunday, April 27th: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Springbrook Gardens Park
6776 Heisley Rd, Mentor 44060
In partnership withBlackbrook Audubon Society
Local News Announcement: The News-Herald
Northeast Ohio Pollinator Society: Webinar Series
Thank you to society member and Northeast Ohio Pollinator Society (NEOPS) Vice President Rees Davis for sharing
information on NEOPS' 2025 winter webinar series. Although the
free webinar
series ended on March 5th, recordings focused on pollinator related topics are available for the
2020 - 2024 winter webinar series. A link to these past recordings and the 2025 schedule information
can be found in the
News of Interest section below.
08 Jan 2025: Making the Most of Your Tree With a Soft Landing Garden
Presenter: Dave Tomashefski
Start time: 7:00 pm Registration is required
Planting a soft landings garden beneath a tree is one of the best ways to support biodiversity in your yard. Join Dave Tomashefski of Meadow City Native Plant Nursery to learn how soft landings gardens support butterflies and moths in completing their lifecycles (and so much more!) This workshop is a great opportunity to maximize the benefits of tree cover in your growing space.
As Meadow City's education specialist, Dave Tomashefski is responsible for the nursery’s educational programs and materials. ... Prior to co-founding Meadow City in Cleveland, Dave worked at the Soil, Water and Environmental Lab at Ohio State, where he also earned his master's degree.
Click here for registration and additional Northeast Ohio Pollinator Society (NEOPS) information.
Click here to view and/or download a PDF document containing additional bio and program information.
22 Jan 2025: Wild Bees in Your Ohio Backyard
Presenter: Denise Ellsworth
Start time: 7:00 pm Registration is required
Many gardeners know a honeybee when they see one, but how about some of the other 400+ species of bees that call Ohio home? This program will focus on some of the most common bees, including their fascinating biology and life histories. We’ll also discuss plant choices and landscape practices to support our native pollinators. ... And how important are these native bees to pollination and biodiversity?
Denise directs pollinator education programming through the Ohio State University Department of Entomology a position she has held since 2012. In her Extension and outreach work, Denise supports and teaches beekeepers, farmers, gardeners, and others across the state through a variety of workshops, webinars, written materials, and electronic resources. Before coming to Entomology, Denise served for 18 years as agriculture and natural resources county extension educator in the Akron/Canton area with a focus on horticulture, integrated pest management and environmental education. ...
Click here for registration and additional Northeast Ohio Pollinator Society (NEOPS) information.
Click here to view and/or download a PDF document containing additional bio and program information.
05 Feb 2025: Creating and Managing a Prairie Meadow
Presenter: John Blakeman
Start time: 7:00 pm Registration is required
John Blakeman, experienced Ohio prairie biologist, will explain, with both graphics and explanations, how authentic Ohio tallgrass prairies can be planned, prepared for, planted, and managed so as to provide beautiful natural habitats that support pollinating insects, capture and retain nutrients in runoff flows to minimize harmful algal blooms, and enhance soil health. John has been planting and managing Ohio prairie planting since 1973 and designs native plant landscapes that feature prairie meadows and islands of prairie that support pollinating insects.
John Blakeman is a retired biology instructor with 30 years of science teaching experience at Perkins Schools near Sandusky and is an experienced Ohio prairie researcher. ... He helped form the Ohio Prairie Association and served as its president. He has presented papers at both state and national prairie conferences and is regarded as an expert in the history of Ohio’s tallgrass prairies. ...
Click here for registration and additional Northeast Ohio Pollinator Society (NEOPS) information.
Click here to view and/or download a PDF document containing additional bio and program information.
19 Feb 2025: Matrix Design for Biodiverse Gardens
Presenter: Michael Keeler
Start time: 7:00 pm Registration is required
Learn about matrix gardens and how to create your own! Matrix gardens are modeled on natural plant communities and relationships and provide a framework that simplifies plant selection, layout, and installation.
Michael Keeler is the founder and principal of Ohio Native Concepts. Michael brings a background in natural resources management and a passion for nature and community to his work creating impactful landscapes for residential and institutional clients across Central Ohio. His design approach focuses on creating spaces that connect humans to nature and improve ecological function and biodiversity. ...
Click here for registration and additional Northeast Ohio Pollinator Society (NEOPS) information.
Click here to view and/or download a PDF document containing additional bio and program information.
05 Mar 2025: Attracting Wildlife to Your Property
Presenter: Brian Hackett
Start time: 7:00 pm Registration is required
This presentation outlines some of the fundamental ways of bringing more nature into your yard, with a primary focus on gardening and landscaping with native plants. ... [Brian] will also talk about why it is important and beneficial for you as a landowner to build habitat on your land.
Brian Hackett is the Wildlife Specialist at Knox Soil & Water Conservation District. ... [P]rior to working in Knox County [he] was a District Technician at Madison Soil & Water Conservation District. In 2013 [Brian] graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resource Management and Animal Science. ...
Click here for registration and additional Northeast Ohio Pollinator Society (NEOPS) information.
Click here to view and/or download a PDF document containing additional bio and program information.
After a week of rain, the wetlands of the Snow Lake lived up to their name,
filling right up to the edge of the depression along the trail’s edge. Acting like
sponges they absorbed the numerous heavy rains from the week, preventing
flooding as seen in many northeast Ohio developed properties. Known by
some as the Cuyahoga wetlands, 1,000 acres of wetland communities,
including shrub swamps, sedge meadows, bog forest, bogs, fens and vernal
pools, are protected by several conservation agencies including: The Nature
Conservancy, Geauga Park District, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and
Ohio State Parks. The adjacent City of Akron’s 18,000 acres of wetland along
the Cuyahoga River protect their water supply....
Narrative continues
Herbarium voucher of American chestnut,
Castanea dentata,
collected by A.W. Cusick, 1978. Ohio State
University Herbarium Online, Museum of Biological
Diversity Herbarium.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<✿>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Working to Restore the American Chestnut
Sara Fern Fitzsimmons, TACF Director of Restoration, 7/27/2018
"The demise of the American chestnut
(Castanea dentata) has been described as one of the
great ecological disasters of current time. Through
the first-half of the 20th century, the species was
virtually eliminated from the landscape by an Asiatic
blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) introduced on
Japanese chestnut materials imported to the US in the
late 1800s. . . ."
Read More
