Parks and Recreation

August 7, 2014 by Staff Report

GEAUGA PARK DISTRICT

For more information, contact the park district by phone at 440-286-9516 or visit www.geaugaparkdistrict.org.

Take in the Perseids

Observatory Park will be open all night for the annual Perseid meteor shower event taking place Aug. 12 and 13 from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. at Observatory Park. Best viewing should be from 1-3 a.m.

Dress warmly, pack some bug spray, something warm to drink, a reclining lawn chair and some blankets and head out to Ohio’s only International Dark Sky Park to lay back and enjoy the show.

There will be no formal program, but a naturalist and other astronomers will be on hand to answer questions and point out other interesting objects in the summer sky.

Something’s Afoot

In conjunction with Geauga Park District’s Something’s Afoot: Nature Just Can’t Stay Put motion-themed interactive exhibit at The West Woods Nature Center, meet a selection of Ohio’s wildlife and see first-hand how feet, fins and wings help different animals get from one place to another.

For starters, frogs, toads and salamanders will demonstrate their multiple modes of movement in a series of entertaining “amph-letic” events, followed by an outdoors evening amphibian search, during Amphibian Olympics: Hop, Jump, Wiggle and Walk on Aug. 15 from 7-8:30 p.m. at The West Woods Nature Center.

Register to join the Cleveland Soaring Society on Aug. 16 from 1-3 p.m. at Geauga County Airport in Middlefield for Soaring with Eagles: An Introduction to Sailplaning!

The runway address will explain the design and flight concepts of non-powered aircraft, followed by a sailplane flight demonstration showing how sailplanes are towed aloft and released to ride the rising air – just as eagles, hawks, vultures and other soaring birds use thermals and updrafts to ply the skies.

See a dragonfly nymph move by jet propulsion or a leech swim on Aug. 17, from 1-4 p.m. at The West Woods. Pond Creatures: See How They Swim allows the family to join a naturalist along the Discover Trail to dip nets into the pond and discover the creatures that live there getting around.

Aquariums are popular because moving water is relaxing and fish movement is mesmerizing. Using binoculars, learn to identify minnows, darters, dace, shines and other colorful stream fish during The Joy of Fish Watching on Aug. 21 from 7-8:30 p.m. at Swine Creek Reservation. After observing swimming, schooling, foraging and protective behavior, the group will net some of the fish for more close-up examination. Use the park district’s binoculars or bring your own.

Snorkeling is almost in session again at Walter C. Best Wildlife Preserve. Do not wait to register for one of four different sessions to Discover Underwater Life Through Snorkeling on Aug. 30. A $25 fee includes snorkel instruction by Just Add Water, equipment and wetsuits (or bring one’s own), plus a unique opportunity to see fish, plants and other aquatic life from an underwater perspective, rain or shine. Registration is required.

As summer transitions to autumn, birds, bats, butterflies and dragonflies stage migrations through the region. Learn more about this mysterious, sometimes spectacular phenomenon from senior naturalist Dan Best during September’s Migration Sensation on Sept. 3, from 7-8:30 p.m. at The West Woods Nature Center.

And finally, naturalists will stick some insects in a variety of viewing containers to display their forms of movement on land and in the air and provide nets so guests can round up some of their own beetles, bugs, butterflies and more, during Insect Olympics: Hop, Scamper, Flit and Fly on Sept. 21 from 2-3:30 p.m. at Burton Wetlands Nature Preserve.

To explore more about animal movement, be sure to visit the Something’s Afoot exhibit itself, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.