GEAUGA PARK DISTRICT For more information, contact the park district…

September 26, 2013

GEAUGA PARK DISTRICT

For more information, contact the park district at 440-286-9516 or visit www.geauga

parkdistrict.org.

Coming Soon: New Wetlands

Frohring Meadows in Bainbridge Township is about to become even more attractive to wildlife as Geauga Park District begins to clear land and build a low dam for new wetlands.

Frohring Meadows opened to the public in 2007, complete with a parking lot and retention basin that emptied into a natural area of two acres. The impending work will double that areas size and enhance it with an Agri Drain to allow for water level management by park district specialists.

Construction should take about five days and cost $7,000, funded by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services Partners for Wildlife program, which supports private landowners and nonfederal agencies for habitat creation. An application, a proposal and on-site meetings were required before the money was awarded this summer.

Prime wetlands already exist at Frohring Meadows, making it a popular place to spot shorebirds, wading birds and waterfowl such as Virginia Rails and soras, which the park district has surveyed for the past few years.

The new wetland work is also expected to increase the populations and diversity of insects like dragonflies and other birds, not to the exclusion mallards and those more familiar.

Walktober Hikes

In October, let cooler temperatures, reds, oranges, yellows and browns help participants unwind during a one-hour walk in a different park each week.

Geauga Park Districts Walktober After-Work Hikes will be held Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m.: Oct. 2 at Swine Creek Reservation (Woods Edge), Oct. 9 at Headwaters Park (Route 322 Parking Area), Oct. 16 at Beartown Lakes Reservation (North Point), Oct. 23 at Orchard Hills Park, and Oct. 30 at Frohring Meadows.

Various park staff picked their favorite trails to show for these walks. Registration is not required, but dress for the weather. Walks are only canceled for high winds and/or electrical storms. Call the park district for walk status.

Fall At Observatory Park

For casual visitors, Observatory Park is open daily 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 10610 Clay St. in Montville Township. For those wanting a more guided experience, however, the astronomy naturalists (astro-nats) are glad to help all fall long at this International Dark Sky Park.

Each Friday and Saturday night, park buildings will be open from 6-11 p.m. in October and 6-10 p.m. in November and December for self-guided night sky viewing, as weather permits, and the occasional use of the Oberle reflecting telescope.

Each Sunday from 1-4 p.m., enjoy building open houses of the Robert McCullough Science Center and the Oberle Observatory to view the meteorite display and the Oberle telescope, with its 25.5-inch mirror. These hours also include The Sky Tonight Planetarium Show Sundays at 2 p.m., offering a naturalist-hosted preview of whats up.

More structured programming is available for visitors of all ages and interest groups, as well.

Biweekly Friday programs include Extreme Storms! on Oct. 4 and 25 from 7-8 p.m.; Comets on Nov. 8 and 22 from 7-8:30 p.m.; and Winter Sky Stories on Dec. 13 and 27 from 7-8:30 p.m.

At an adult-oriented guided listening program called Nature in Music: A Little Night Music on Friday, Nov. 15, from 7:30-8:30 p.m., naturalist Linda Gilbert will play classical music inside the Robert McCullough Science Center and explain how aspects of the music portray some extra musical scene, bird or image of the night.

Programs to study the full moons are scheduled for Oct. 18 (the Hunter Moon), from 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Nov. 17 (the Beaver Moon), from 5 to 7 p.m.; and Dec. 17 (the Cold Moon), from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

All Observatory Park programs this season are free to attend without registration.

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YMCA Basketball Leagues

The Geauga Family YMCA will be running its fall basketball league starting Oct. 28.

Leagues are offered for 4-year-olds up through high school age.

A new travel basketball league is starting. It is a more competitive league where each team will travel to different Cleveland YMCA branches to play games.

For more information, call Mike Dutton, program director, at 440-285-7543.