By: 1812Blockhouse
This year we’re continuing our weekly look at unique events and attractions that are within an easy driving distance of Richland County. We call these “Summer Road Trips.” Of course, we regularly feature the many extraordinary places to visit right here in Richland County and encourage our readers to get out and experience what is on offer in our own backyard.
The unique kind of summer Ohio is experiencing has meant that trips and vacations have been kept a bit closer to home, and many are emphasizing outdoor experiences.
One easy to undertake day road trip for the Summer of 2020, particularly for those who enjoy the beauty of butterflies, is the extraordinary Butterfly Ridge in the Hocking Hills. More…
MOSQUITOES
Spring rains combined with warm weather make conditions favorable for mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes can breed in any standing water if it lasts at least seven days.
By: 1812Blockhouse Staff
A brand-new post on the Kingwood Capital Campaign Blog of Kingwood Center Gardens, posted on Thursday, not only shares good news but also proudly displays proof of those tidings.
The news is that construction crews have returned to work on the new Garden Gateway. Not only have workers returned, albeit under restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the green stuff has been arriving as well.
This is Kingwood, after all. The beautiful visitors and education center will be set in horticultural beauty and will include a stunning new fountain. More…
Featured, Garden Gateway Project, Kingwood Center Gardens, Nature
By: 1812Blockhouse Staff, Richland SWCD
As we shared back at the beginning of April, that month was a celebration of Ohio’s native plants.
Although many activities and events planned for Ohio’s first Native Plants Month were postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 public health situation, the Ohio Department of National Resources still highlighted the importance of native plants and their variety throughout the month on the agency website and social media channels.
And, of course, many Ohioans still enjoyed these plants first-hand by going outdoors and experiencing them in their natural settings.
Now, as gardening season gets underway, Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD) encourages you to “go native” when planning your garden or landscape. More…
Featured, Nature, Richland Soil and Water Conservation DIstrict
By: 1812Blockhouse Staff
Note: Published in 2017, this article has been updated for spring 2020. Letterboxing is a wonderful outdoor activity that can be done individually or with friends while exercising social distancing.
Some 160 years ago, visitors to the Dartmoor region of southwest England began to do something rather peculiar. Those hiking on the moors would place a letter or postcard inside a designated box along the trail as a mark that they had visited. Those who would come after them would, in turn, post letters back to those who had left them. Soon, these “letterboxes” were carefully hidden so that they would be difficult to discover. More…
Sources: ODNR, 1812Blockhouse Staff
Thanks to thousands of reports from citizen scientists during February and March, 706 bald eagle nests have been confirmed in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
1812Blockhouse shared a background story about this census back in January, and shared news of the first bald eagle sighting of 2020. That story can be read here.
The bald eagle is one of Ohio’s greatest wildlife success stories. The nest census was the first undertaking to discover all such sites for the first time in eight years. The results show an increase of 151% from the 2012 census, when 281 nests were recorded in Ohio. The high number of nests represents the hard work and dedication put forth for Ohio’s wildlife. More…
Featured, Nature, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife
Richland Countians have more than one way to interact with the area’s native trees and plants this spring.
Even with the current Stay-at-Home Order, Ohioans are still permitted to walk to exercise or get way in parks and recreation areas, provided that social distancing is maintained.
That includes the walking trails at the Gorman Nature Center, the B&O Bike Trail, Mohican State Park, and other locations. In those locations, the beauty of Ohio’s wildflowers and other native species will be clearly evident.
Spring is a time of renewal across Ohio’s beautiful landscapes, and this April marks the state’s first Native Plant Month, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). More…
Featured, Native Plants, Nature, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
It’s not every county in Ohio that has its own Osprey Cam. Richland County is soon to have one!
Each day brings us a bit closer to spring and further from the chill of winter. With this in mind, the staff at Pleasant Hill Lake Park have installed a new HD webcam on their Osprey Nesting platform near the beach area. In the near future, they will be live-streaming the feed 24/7 on their website, so that everyone can see what the ospreys are up to. More…
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission has released its draft Lake Erie Protection & Restoration Plan 2020 (LEPR) for public comment. The LEPR, last published in 2016, reflects actions that the Ohio Lake Erie Commission and its member agencies will take over the next several years to protect, preserve, and restore our Great Lake. The State’s actions complement federal and local partners’ initiatives in the Lake Erie basin and across the region. More…
This Saturday, Gorman Nature Center (GNC) in Mansfield is offering a Family Friendly Bird Day full of activities to engage and excite kids and adults alike. This is a great wintertime opportunity to connect with nature! Here are the planned activities: More…
The Richland County Park District has a lot of great events planned for 2020 at Gorman Nature Center in Mansfield. Most of the events are free and designed for the whole family. We are lucky to have such a great space in our backyard – make sure to mark your calendar for some of these fun and educational programs! More…
Family Events, Gorman Nature Center, Nature, Richland County Park District
For the first time in eight years, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife is attempting to find every bald eagle nest in Ohio and is asking citizen scientists to report their sightings of our national bird.
This is certainly an effort that local residents would find worthwhile to undertake. According to the website eBird, a sighting of a bald eagle in 2020 has already been made locally — the last by Michele Skolmutch on January 28 at Pleasant Hill Lake Park. One of the best places to view bald eagles in the county is on Durbin Road, immediately south of Bellville. If you want to get “up close and personal” with one, you can visit Ted and Gus, the eagles in residence at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary near Clearfork Reservoir. More…
We bet they had fun coming up with the name of this event!
The OSU Mansfield College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Science invites you to bring the family to their February 29th Syrup and Salamanders event, and it will all make sense. The faculty, staff, and extension educators are working with the campus to manage its 600+ acres of woodlands, which means that they have lots of land to explore. More…
Ohio botanists found four plant species in 2019 that had not been seen in Ohio for decades and, in one case, more than a century, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Natural Areas and Preserves (DNAP).
“Ohio’s natural diversity continues to educate, inspire, and surprise us,” said Gov. Mike DeWine. “These discoveries are an exciting development for the future of conservation in our state.” More…
