Fellows Riverside Gardens Parking Lot Maintenance

Beginning on Monday, April 24, 2017, the MetroParks will be conducting asphalt pavement preventive maintenance work on the parking lot at Fellows Riverside Gardens. The work is expected to continue for several days. 

Throughout the project, the Gardens will be accessible and the Davis Education and Visitor Center will remain open during regular operating hours. Visitors will be able to utilize sections of the parking lot and access the Gardens. Access to the parking lot throughout the project will be limited, with only one entrance (McKinley Avenue or Price Road) being accessible at any time. 

In the event of inclement weather, the work schedule will be delayed and adjusted accordingly. 

Mill Creek MetroParks Naturalist Receives Sandy McBeath Award from the National Association for Interpretation

Naturalist Marilyn Williams of Mill Creek MetroParks has been awarded the Sandy McBeath Outstanding Part-Time/Seasonal Interpreter Award by the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) Great Lakes Region. As part of the Professional Awards Program, the Sandy McBeath Award is designed to recognize outstanding interpreters within the Great Lakes region including Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Ontario. The Sandy McBeath Award is presented to two NAI Great Lakes Region interpreters that exceed in front-line interpretation and program development, and show leadership qualities.

Marilyn Williams, naturalist at the Ford Nature Center, began with Mill Creek MetroParks in 2012 as a seasonal interpreter at Lanterman’s Mill. In April 2013, Williams officially moved to the nature center as a naturalist. Prior to working at Mill Creek MetroParks, she was an ecotour guide in Florida for nine years expanding visitor awareness of Florida’s diverse habitats, including the cypress swamps. Within the MetroParks, Williams has been integral at developing and leading programs such as Children’s Nature Hour, Tales for Tots, Heritage and History Day Camp, Old Fashioned Fun at Lanterman’s Mill, hikes, school programs, and more. Through the Children’s Nature Hour and Tales for Tots programs, Williams engages and excites children ages 2-6 with fun nature topics and creative activities, all the while teaching important ideas about nature and wildlife. At Old Fashioned Fun at Lanterman’s Mill, an annual event, Williams presents families with fun ways to experience the past by observing and trying out various tasks from an era when people were intricately connected to nature for their survival. As an interpreter and educator, Williams strives to take advantage of interpreting nature as it changes by giving Mill Creek MetroParks visitors the opportunity to savor the best of each season and discover, as Williams calls them, “nature’s little treasures.”

Williams will be attending the NAI Great Lakes Regional Interpreter’s Workshop hosted in St. Catherine’s, Ontario at the end of April to accept the award.

Mill Creek MetroParks Road Closures

The following roads and areas in Mill Creek Park will be closed to vehicular traffic as well as cyclists and pedestrians from approximately 7:00 am until 10:30 am on Sunday, April 23, 2017 for the Run Y-town 10 Miler:

  • Old Mill Drive
  • Kreider’s Entrance
  • West Newport Drive
  • East Newport Drive
  • Chestnut Hill Drive
  • Parking areas for East Golf Drive

Always use caution when driving on MetroParks roads as many of these roads are also used by pedestrians and bicyclists. Pedestrians and bicyclists should be reminded to also use caution and be aware of vehicular traffic when on these roads. For more information about Mill Creek MetroParks, visit our website at www.millcreekmetroparks.org.

New Monthly Family Golf Nights at Mill Creek Golf Course

The Mill Creek Golf Course will begin Monthly Family Golf Nights beginning April 23, 2017. This new program invites all families and all ages to experience the game of golf at a great family rate every month from April through October. On select Sunday evenings (April 23, May 21, June 11, July 23, August 13, September 10, and October 8) Mill Creek Golf Course will offer families the opportunity to play a round of golf to groom their skills in a fun setting. Kids will be encouraged to take advantage of the new kids tee markers and will receive a prize each time they participate.

The family of 4 fee of $25.00 includes two golf carts and greens fees for the group. Standard facility rules and regulations apply for all golf cart rentals. Tee times will be required for each event date by calling the Mill Creek Golf Shop at 330.740.7112.  Tee times will start at 5:00 pm for the months of April & May, 6:00 pm for the months of June, July & August and 4:30 pm for the months of September & October.

For more information about the Mill Creek Golf Course, visit our website at www.millcreekmetroparks.org.

Mill Creek MetroParks and Audubon Society Partner in Pilot Program

Mill Creek MetroParks & Audubon Society will partner on a Grassland Habitat Management Pilot Program at the MetroParks Farm in the hopes of increasing the survival rate of species of bird known as the Bobolink. Bobolinks are a grassland–dependent species that is listed as a “species of concern” as determined by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and have been known to frequent the pasture areas of the MetroParks Farm. The program involves delaying cutting of a roughly three (3) acre sized portion of existing pasture until July 4th which coincides with the conclusion of the bobolinks nesting season. The Audubon Society will monitor the three acres weekly beginning at the end of April and   attempt to estimate the number of nesting bobolinks in an effort to determine if the delayed cutting increases nest success.

Grasslands at the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm have been attracting various grassland-dependent birds, including Bobolinks for at least 10 years. Additional grassland-dependent species to be included in the pilot program are: Eastern Meadowlarks, Savannah Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows and Vesper Sparrows. Breeding bird surveys have indicated that the population of Bobolinks is declining at a rate of 4.5% annually. The primary cause of mortality for these grassland species, and the population declines, is the disturbance they encounter during their nesting from haying, mowing or burning.

Additionally, Audubon Society will be donating $1000.00 for educational interpretive signage that will be placed on the acreage where the pilot program will take place.

For more information on the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm, please call 330.702.3000 or visit our website at www.millcreekmetroparks.org.

New Kids Only Tees & Donald Ross Kids Club at Mill Creek Golf Courses in 2017

The North and South Mill Creek Golf Courses will display two new sets of tee markers on April 23, 2017 designated specifically for junior golfers ages 5 to 13 years old. There will be a pink set of tees for girls and a light blue set of tees for the boys. Both sets of tee markers will be set up for a shorter distance to make the game more enjoyable and playtime quicker. These tee markers will align to similar distances as in the national PGA Junior Golf League program and the PGA of America’s Tee it Forward initiative.

Also new to the Golf Course for 2017 is the Donald Ross Mill Creek Kids Club. Kids joining the free Donald Ross Mill Creek Kids Club who play 10 or more rounds will receive a free Donald Ross Mill Creek Kids Club bag tag, sleeve of golf balls and a free large bucket of range balls. Also, after a round of golf, kids ages 5 to 13 who bring a completed scorecard stamped by a Mill Creek staff member into Mill Creek Hole #55 Grille will receive a free bag of popcorn. Kids can register for the Donald Ross Mill Creek Kids Club in the Mill Creek Golf Shop.

For more information about the Mill Creek Golf Course, visit our website at www.millcreekmetroparks.org.

Notice of April-May Standing Committee Meetings

(Youngstown, Ohio) The Wildlife Standing Committee to the Board of Park Commissioners of Mill Creek MetroParks, will meet on Thursday, April 20, 2017, at 1 p.m., at Pioneer Pavilion, on Old Furnace Road in Youngstown.

The Finance Standing Committee to the Board of Park Commissioners of Mill Creek MetroParks, will meet on Saturday, April 22, 2017, at 10 a.m. in McMahon Hall at the MetroParks Farm in Canfield.

The Horticulture Standing Committee to the Board of Park Commissioners of Mill Creek MetroParks, will meet on Monday, April 24, 2017, at 4 p.m., at Birch Hill Cabin, at the end of McCollum Rd. in Youngstown.

The Nature Education Standing Committee to the Board of Park Commissioners of Mill Creek MetroParks, will meet on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, at 6:30 p.m., in Classroom A at the MetroParks Farm in Canfield.

The Development Standing Committee to the Board of Park Commissioners of Mill Creek MetroParks, will meet on Monday, May 1, 2017, at 4 p.m., in Classroom A at the MetroParks Farm in Canfield.

Annual delivery of trout to Mill Creek marks start of spring

About 2,500 live rainbow trout are now swimming in Lake Glacier at Mill Creek MetroParks in Youngstown

Click to view full article at wkbn.com