Workers at Mill Creek Park spent some time cleaning up the turtles at the Lily Pond.
Some of the turtles had paint on their shells. We’re told they may have been pets that were dropped off in the Lily Pond at some point.
About six turtles were recovered from the Lily Pond and the paint was removed from their shells. A Facebook post on Mill Creek’s page showed some of the processes it took to remove the paint.
It’s because the paint can be unhealthy for the turtles.
“It’s an organ if you will, similar to our skin. It grows with them and it allows them to absorb minerals from sunlight, so once you cover it with paint they’re obviously not getting that mineral absorption, it can cause some respiratory issues,” said Nick Derico, natural resources manager at Mill Creek Park.
Derico also wants to remind people that it’s against their rules to drop off pets, including turtles and goldfish, into the Lily Pond.
https://www.millcreekmetroparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/mcmp-header.png00Mill Creek MetroParks Staffhttps://www.millcreekmetroparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/mcmp-header.pngMill Creek MetroParks Staff2023-05-04 13:04:002023-05-04 13:04:00Paint removed from turtles’ shells at Lily Pond
After picking up a small fishing rod and line, Nico Rogers didn’t catch any trout or bass, but he did reel in much excitement and anticipation.
“I think it’s amazing and extraordinary,” Nico, 9, of Boardman, said. “You can teach kids about nature. It feels great because there are so many new things, and things to experiment with.”
The Boardman Center Middle School student was referring to the reopened Ford Nature Center on Old Furnace Road in Mill Creek Park, which was the site of a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Saturday.
The event also coincided with Earth Day.
The stately building, which was constructed in 1913 and became a nature center in the early 1970s, closed in February 2020 to undergo about $4 million in renovations — work that was ongoing through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of the changes and additions left an impression on Nico, whose regular interactions with the park include playing sports and birdwatching.
“What a gift to give to the community,” the boy’s mother, Melissa Rogers, said.
In addition to adding new features, a top priority of the project was to rehabilitate and preserve many of the original historic and architectural components, Justin Rogers, the park’s planning and operations director, noted.
Rogers also is Nico’s father.
New portions include a large, bright and airy exhibition hall on the lowest level, two multi-use classrooms in the education building next door and a rooftop garden, Justin Rogers explained. The renovations also entail a history room, a gift shop, two outdoor classrooms, the paved Axtman Trail and a new conference room and offices for teachers and staff to plan educational programs.
Rogers also thanked the hundreds of people who donated money, time and talents to the project.
“We’re thrilled to have it finally finished and have it be an asset to the community for generations to come,” Aaron Young, Mill Creek MetroParks’ executive director, said.
Young noted that $3 million of the $4 million for the project came from private philanthropy, and the rest from Mill Creek MetroParks.
The exhibition hall area, which looks out onto a wildflower meadow and hiking trails, features an array of high-tech, interactive exhibits and poster boards that include information on different native trees, the wetlands area, the Mill Creek Watershed and park geology. Also in the room is an exhibit about Volney Rogers, the well-known lawyer who was pivotal in transforming the park in the late 1800s.
Adding to the overall greenery is the Green Roof Plaza, which has a square garden filled with small-leafed succulents and sedums, hydrangeas and rhizomes, and requires little maintenance. The garden was carefully crafted with rubber layers for additional protection and needs proper drainage, Brian Keith, the park’s operations supervisor, explained.
The square plot also is a microcosm of the Living Roof, a 454,000-square-foot drought-resistant garden atop the Ford Motor Co.’s Rouge Center in Dearborn, Mich., Keith noted.
“To me, it’s just a place for relaxation,” Nancy Brundage said about Nancy’s Nook, a small window-filled room that overlooks a few hiking trails as well as the wildflower meadow and several bird feeders and boxes at the rear of the nature center.
The space was named in honor of Brundage, who was one of the nature center project’s initial donors and who began volunteering for the park in the mid-1980s. For 27 years, she has conducted bird and nature walks; her volunteer efforts also have included booking school groups and answering calls, and she still serves as a volunteer naturalist, Brundage said.
Also happy with the reopening was Eric Cromwell of Poland, who worked three or four years as an attendant at the original Ford Nature Center.
“I’m glad to see they kept a lot of the historical nature of the house,” said Cromwell, who earned a degree in natural resources from Hocking College in Nelsonville.
Also on hand Saturday was Ed Komara, who runs a traveling reptile educational program called Komara Outdoors. Komara had in one of the indoor classrooms an exhibit that included a 120-pound alligator snapping turtle, a leopard tortoise and other animals.
“I came here as a kid to learn about nature and I wanted her to learn about nature,” Eric Cappy of Boardman said, referring to his daughter Ariana McCall-Cappy, 7, who was intrigued by the reptiles.
https://www.millcreekmetroparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/mcmp-header.png00Mill Creek MetroParks Staffhttps://www.millcreekmetroparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/mcmp-header.pngMill Creek MetroParks Staff2023-05-04 13:00:362023-05-04 13:00:36Ford Nature Center reopens
FirstEnergy Corp. is set to donate and plant 700 trees at various locations in the Valley to celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day.
FirstEnergy will donate 300 trees to Mill Creek MetroParks. A mixed variety of hardwood trees will be planted on Monday, April 25, by employees of FirstEnergy and its Ohio Edison electric company throughout the MetroParks’ 402-acre farm in Canfield.
In addition to the trees that will be planted at the Mill Creek MetroParks, FirstEnergy plans to donate 400 additional trees to the Poland Municipal Forest on Friday, April 28, to celebrate Arbor Day.
The trees will be planted throughout the property by FirstEnergy employee volunteers next Friday and Saturday.
Since April 2021, FirstEnergy has donated and planted more than 40,000 trees throughout its six-state service territory. This initiative is a part of the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, promote responsible use of natural resources and further the advancement of sustainable practices.
Led by FirstEnergy’s Green Team in northeast Ohio, the Mill Creek MetroParks tree-planting event is one of several projects employees will complete this year to help nearby parks, nature preserves and communities across FirstEnergy’s entire footprint.
This year’s donation of trees to Mill Creek MetroParks complements FirstEnergy’s donation of 600 trees planted at the MetroParks Farm and Collier Preserve over the past two years on Earth Day.
“These trees will help restore forested habitat within the park that we’ve lost over the years, and we look forward to monitoring the trees and helping them along as they mature,” said Nick Derico, natural resources manager at Mill Creek MetroParks. “We appreciate FirstEnergy and Ohio Edison’s ongoing commitment to preserving our local environment so that our trees and wildlife can continue to thrive for many years.”
https://www.millcreekmetroparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/mcmp-header.png00Mill Creek MetroParks Staffhttps://www.millcreekmetroparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/mcmp-header.pngMill Creek MetroParks Staff2023-05-04 12:54:222023-05-04 12:54:22FirstEnergy to plant 700 trees in the Valley
Paint removed from turtles’ shells at Lily Pond
/in Media Coverage/by Mill Creek MetroParks StaffWorkers at Mill Creek Park spent some time cleaning up the turtles at the Lily Pond.
Some of the turtles had paint on their shells. We’re told they may have been pets that were dropped off in the Lily Pond at some point.
About six turtles were recovered from the Lily Pond and the paint was removed from their shells. A Facebook post on Mill Creek’s page showed some of the processes it took to remove the paint.
It’s because the paint can be unhealthy for the turtles.
“It’s an organ if you will, similar to our skin. It grows with them and it allows them to absorb minerals from sunlight, so once you cover it with paint they’re obviously not getting that mineral absorption, it can cause some respiratory issues,” said Nick Derico, natural resources manager at Mill Creek Park.
Derico also wants to remind people that it’s against their rules to drop off pets, including turtles and goldfish, into the Lily Pond.
Read the original article at WKBN.
Ford Nature Center reopens
/in Media Coverage/by Mill Creek MetroParks StaffAfter picking up a small fishing rod and line, Nico Rogers didn’t catch any trout or bass, but he did reel in much excitement and anticipation.
“I think it’s amazing and extraordinary,” Nico, 9, of Boardman, said. “You can teach kids about nature. It feels great because there are so many new things, and things to experiment with.”
The Boardman Center Middle School student was referring to the reopened Ford Nature Center on Old Furnace Road in Mill Creek Park, which was the site of a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Saturday.
The event also coincided with Earth Day.
The stately building, which was constructed in 1913 and became a nature center in the early 1970s, closed in February 2020 to undergo about $4 million in renovations — work that was ongoing through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of the changes and additions left an impression on Nico, whose regular interactions with the park include playing sports and birdwatching.
“What a gift to give to the community,” the boy’s mother, Melissa Rogers, said.
In addition to adding new features, a top priority of the project was to rehabilitate and preserve many of the original historic and architectural components, Justin Rogers, the park’s planning and operations director, noted.
Rogers also is Nico’s father.
New portions include a large, bright and airy exhibition hall on the lowest level, two multi-use classrooms in the education building next door and a rooftop garden, Justin Rogers explained. The renovations also entail a history room, a gift shop, two outdoor classrooms, the paved Axtman Trail and a new conference room and offices for teachers and staff to plan educational programs.
Rogers also thanked the hundreds of people who donated money, time and talents to the project.
“We’re thrilled to have it finally finished and have it be an asset to the community for generations to come,” Aaron Young, Mill Creek MetroParks’ executive director, said.
Young noted that $3 million of the $4 million for the project came from private philanthropy, and the rest from Mill Creek MetroParks.
The exhibition hall area, which looks out onto a wildflower meadow and hiking trails, features an array of high-tech, interactive exhibits and poster boards that include information on different native trees, the wetlands area, the Mill Creek Watershed and park geology. Also in the room is an exhibit about Volney Rogers, the well-known lawyer who was pivotal in transforming the park in the late 1800s.
Adding to the overall greenery is the Green Roof Plaza, which has a square garden filled with small-leafed succulents and sedums, hydrangeas and rhizomes, and requires little maintenance. The garden was carefully crafted with rubber layers for additional protection and needs proper drainage, Brian Keith, the park’s operations supervisor, explained.
The square plot also is a microcosm of the Living Roof, a 454,000-square-foot drought-resistant garden atop the Ford Motor Co.’s Rouge Center in Dearborn, Mich., Keith noted.
“To me, it’s just a place for relaxation,” Nancy Brundage said about Nancy’s Nook, a small window-filled room that overlooks a few hiking trails as well as the wildflower meadow and several bird feeders and boxes at the rear of the nature center.
The space was named in honor of Brundage, who was one of the nature center project’s initial donors and who began volunteering for the park in the mid-1980s. For 27 years, she has conducted bird and nature walks; her volunteer efforts also have included booking school groups and answering calls, and she still serves as a volunteer naturalist, Brundage said.
Also happy with the reopening was Eric Cromwell of Poland, who worked three or four years as an attendant at the original Ford Nature Center.
“I’m glad to see they kept a lot of the historical nature of the house,” said Cromwell, who earned a degree in natural resources from Hocking College in Nelsonville.
Also on hand Saturday was Ed Komara, who runs a traveling reptile educational program called Komara Outdoors. Komara had in one of the indoor classrooms an exhibit that included a 120-pound alligator snapping turtle, a leopard tortoise and other animals.
“I came here as a kid to learn about nature and I wanted her to learn about nature,” Eric Cappy of Boardman said, referring to his daughter Ariana McCall-Cappy, 7, who was intrigued by the reptiles.
Read the original article at The Vindicator.
FirstEnergy to plant 700 trees in the Valley
/in Media Coverage/by Mill Creek MetroParks StaffFirstEnergy Corp. is set to donate and plant 700 trees at various locations in the Valley to celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day.
FirstEnergy will donate 300 trees to Mill Creek MetroParks. A mixed variety of hardwood trees will be planted on Monday, April 25, by employees of FirstEnergy and its Ohio Edison electric company throughout the MetroParks’ 402-acre farm in Canfield.
In addition to the trees that will be planted at the Mill Creek MetroParks, FirstEnergy plans to donate 400 additional trees to the Poland Municipal Forest on Friday, April 28, to celebrate Arbor Day.
The trees will be planted throughout the property by FirstEnergy employee volunteers next Friday and Saturday.
Since April 2021, FirstEnergy has donated and planted more than 40,000 trees throughout its six-state service territory. This initiative is a part of the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, promote responsible use of natural resources and further the advancement of sustainable practices.
Led by FirstEnergy’s Green Team in northeast Ohio, the Mill Creek MetroParks tree-planting event is one of several projects employees will complete this year to help nearby parks, nature preserves and communities across FirstEnergy’s entire footprint.
This year’s donation of trees to Mill Creek MetroParks complements FirstEnergy’s donation of 600 trees planted at the MetroParks Farm and Collier Preserve over the past two years on Earth Day.
“These trees will help restore forested habitat within the park that we’ve lost over the years, and we look forward to monitoring the trees and helping them along as they mature,” said Nick Derico, natural resources manager at Mill Creek MetroParks. “We appreciate FirstEnergy and Ohio Edison’s ongoing commitment to preserving our local environment so that our trees and wildlife can continue to thrive for many years.”
Read the original article at WKBN.