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Blog Entries - tag: 'Conservation'

Marking Time Without Calendars

Posted on: May 5, 2021
Tags: Cicadas, Periodical cicadas, Brood x, Wildlife, Conservation, Nature, Nature learning, Soil, Backyard habitat

By Laura Weinel, Community Engagement Coordinator Imagine a world where there are no calendars to mark the days and no clocks to count the time. Instead, each passing year is tracked using... plants. Confused yet? Lucky for us read more …

Who Cares?

Posted on: April 29, 2021
Tags: Conservation, Nature, Nature learning, Phenology, Eco-friendly habits, Conservation impact, Naturalist, Social emotional learning, Conservation issues

By Connie O'Connor, Director of Education It’s exciting to learn something new about nature. And it’s even more fun to share that knowledge with others. “If only they knew more about it,” we might think, “then they’d read more …

It Starts with a Seed

Posted on: April 14, 2021
Tags: Milkweed, Conservation, Nature, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants, Landscaping, Plant identification, Eco-friendly habits, Soil, Backyard habitat, Earth day, National gardening day

By Jeff Sperry, Director of Development and Marketing I guess I was about 11 years old when I asked my parents if I could have a garden in our backyard. Inspired by my grandparents’ enormous vegetable garden on their dairy farm in Chautauqua County, read more …

Meet Olivia & Danie

Posted on: March 31, 2021
Tags: Burn boss, Prescribed burns, Women in conservation, Women's history month, Conservation, Nature, Native plants, Landscaping, Vernal pools, Vernal ponds, Eco-friendly habits, Soil, Ornithology, Trails, Invasive species, Non-native plants, Non-native species, Long branch farm & trails, Women who lead

Olivia Espinoza: Natural Areas Manager & Burn Boss It’s not often that you get to set something on fire to help it grow. But that’s just what Olivia Espinoza does as our Natural Area Manager when it comes to taking care of our fields and read more …

Home Sweet Sycamore

Posted on: March 18, 2021
Tags: Conservation, Nature, Ornithology, Great blue herons, Rookery, Long branch farm & trails

By Tess Renusch The great blue herons have returned to Long Branch Farm & Trails, and so the nesting season has begun! Like many picky homebuyers, Great Blue Herons can be particular when it comes to choosing a nesting spot, so what makes Long Branch an read more …

A Sunny Garden Flower Gone Awry

Posted on: February 24, 2021
Tags: Yellow iris, Conservation, Nature, Nature learning, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants, Knowing nature in your yard, Landscaping, Plant identification, Backyard habitat, Invasive species, Non-native plants, Non-native species

by Danie Frevola, Conservation Apprentice Yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus) is a stunning wetland plant with tall and showy yellow flowers (Fig 1.). While it is an attractive landscaping plant, it also peaks gardener’s interest because it can grow in a read more …

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The Invasive Vine No One Seems to Notice

Posted on: February 23, 2021
Tags: Conservation, Gardening, Native plants, Plant identification, Eco-friendly habits, Backyard habitat, Invasive species, Non-native plants, Non-native species

by Danie Frevola, Conservation Apprentice Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) is found in all sorts of spots throughout Cincinnati- from the side of houses, to the side of highways; across the forest floor all the way up to the tree canopy. However, the vine read more …

Happy National Invasive Species Week!

Posted on: February 22, 2021
Tags: Conservation, Nature, Yard care, Gardening, Knowing nature in your yard, Plant identification, Invasive species, Non-native plants, Non-native species

by Danie Frevola, Conservation Apprentice Happy National Invasive Species Awareness week! Anyone that has had a conversation with me has heard ‘invasive species’ countless times, and it's likely that you have come across the term quite a few read more …

Shaun’s Yard

Posted on: May 7, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants, Knowing nature in your yard, Landscaping, Welcoming nature in your yard, Plant identification, Eco-friendly habits, Backyard habitat

A Practical Application of National Wildlife Federation’s Habitat Checklist by Jason Neumann, Public Programs Manager Suburban Blue Ash, early April. I had pulled out my lawnmower for the first grass cutting of 2020. Dressed to work in my old read more …

Turn Your Property into Better Habitat

Posted on: May 5, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants, Knowing nature in your yard, Landscaping, Welcoming nature in your yard, Eco-friendly habits, Backyard habitat

By Jeff Sperry, Director of Development and Marketing I hate mowing the lawn. It’s noisy, messy, and smelly. Lawnmower motors are very loud; grass clippings get all over the place; and the fumes from the motor are noxious. My goal has been to read more …

Want Biodiversity? Feed the Soil

Posted on: April 27, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Nature learning, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants, Knowing nature in your yard, Brush piles, Landscaping, Welcoming nature in your yard, Zero waste, Eco-friendly habits, Soil, Composting, Backyard compost, Backyard habitat

by Jason Neumann, Public Programs Manager It’s time to vent. After nearly 25 years on staff at Cincinnati Nature Center, there are a couple of things I want to clear up. For the record, I’m fully on board with the Nature Center’s read more …

The Bird that Carries the Sky on Its Back and the Earth on Its Breast (John Burroughs)

Posted on: April 22, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Knowing nature in your yard, Phenology, Eastern bluebirds, Citizen science, Ornithology,

by Tim Nabors, Naturalist Of all the birds that can be found at the Cincinnati Nature Center, my favorite is the Eastern Bluebird and I believe many would agree with me. Something about seeing a bright flash of blue flittering about the fields and forest read more …

Let's Talk Zero Waste for Earth Day!

Posted on: April 22, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, Zero waste, Earth day, Recycling, Eco-friendly habits

by Danielle Frevola, Center for Conservation Apprentice Happy Earth day! Earth day is one of my favorite days of the year because not only is it an excuse for me to give Mother Earth some extra lovin’, I love seeing everyone else share the love too! read more …

Go Spots!

Posted on: April 21, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Nature learning, Knowing nature in your yard, Vernal pools, Vernal ponds, Salamanders, Amphibians,

By Olivia Espinoza, Natural Areas Manager I’m certain that one of the staples of a childhood is the discovery of a tadpole in a ditch, puddle, or pond. I grew up with a lake in my backyard and would spend the summers with my head peering over the water read more …

The Myth of Groundcover

Posted on: April 16, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Nature learning, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants, Knowing nature in your yard, Landscaping, Welcoming nature in your yard, Plant identification

by Jason Neumann I didn’t plant it, but there it is at the bottom of my wood privacy fence: wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei). As a naturalist, I know that this unwanted botanical surprise is courtesy of neighborhood birds that relieved themselves read more …

What’s (Probably) Growing in Your Yard: Our Bioblitz Round-Up

Posted on: April 15, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Nature learning, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants, Knowing nature in your yard, Landscaping, Welcoming nature in your yard, Bioblitz, Plant identification

By Connie O’Connor and Jason Neumann

We had a great time with our first-ever bioblitz—our Lawn Plant Identification Challenge! We totaled 349 observations of 175 different species in and around lawns in our region!

Rethinking Your Lawn: A Guide to Living with Imperfection

Posted on: April 13, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants, Knowing nature in your yard, Landscaping, Welcoming nature in your yard

By Jeff Sperry, Director of Development and Marketing There’s a reason the lawn treatment companies put little signs up saying “Stay Off the Grass for 24 Hours” when they finish a treatment. The chemicals they just sprayed all over read more …

The Story of My Land—Keeping a Phenology Journal

Posted on: April 9, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Nature learning, Native plants, Knowing nature in your yard, Landscaping, Welcoming nature in your yard, Phenology

By Connie O’Connor “Every place, like every person, is elevated by the love and respect shown toward it, and by the way its bounty is received.” -- Richard Nelson I bought my first home, hidden away on 3.6 acres of woodland, read more …

Brush Pile? It’s Habitat, Not Waste!

Posted on: April 8, 2020
Tags: Brush piles, Landscaping, Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants, Welcoming nature in your yard

By Jason Neumann, Public Programs Manager My mother is fond of saying “you could sell a dirty oil rag.” Turning garbage into something of value has always been one of my favorite things to do. I’ve been pondering this as I pick up all the read more …

Knowledge & Confidence in the Palm of Your Hand

Posted on: April 3, 2020
Tags: Knowing nature in your yard, Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Nature learning, Yard care, Native plants

By Connie O’Connor Here’s a confession: I sometimes dread “what’s this” questions when leading a hike. When I teach Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist students, they express similar concerns. We can’t know everything, but read more …

Spring Cut Back

Posted on: March 27, 2020
Tags: Conservation, Nature, At home with nature, Yard care, Gardening, Native plants

By Jason Neumann My yard in suburban Blue Ash is providing solace from the constant news updates. Like most people, I’ve been holed up at home. My calendar cleared, I can no longer make excuses for not tending to the yard. It’s time for the read more …

Milkweed to Monarchs in Schools

Posted on: August 1, 2015
Tags: Monarch butterfly, Milkweed, Conservation

By Melissa Sabo Teachers all over the tri-state area have been jumping at the opportunity to get their students involved with monarch conservation this year through the Nature Center’s Milkweed to Monarchs initiative, which raises awareness read more …