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

March 21, 2013

GEAUGA PARK DISTRICT

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

parkdistrict.org.

Vernal Poolooza

Vernal Poolooza is March 24 from 2-3:30 p.m. at The West Woods Nature Center, 9465 Kinsman Road in Russell Township.

Vernal pools are critical habitats for a number of creatures, and here’s an opportunity to meet some of them. Learn indoors how the pools are managed by Geauga Park District naturalists in order to provide for their inhabitants’ needs, and then head outside to look for evidence of amphibian and aquatic invertebrate activity in the pools along the Discovery Trail.

Registration is not required.

Wing & Waterfowl Welcome

Ah, the sweet signs of spring sprouts of green popping up, migratory birds passing through and Geauga Park District programs scheduled to experience the moment.

Start the weekend with the indoor, aptly named Best Bets for Birding Geauga: Wings of Early Spring, on March 29, from 7-8:30 p.m., when senior naturalist Dan Best will explain when and where to experience the early stages of spring migration with waterfowl, sandhill cranes, great blue herons, vultures and passerines, such as phoebes, swallows, sparrows, blackbirds and more.

Then, go afield for the real deal and scan the ice-freed waters of the City of Akrons LaDue Reservoir for common loons, bald eagles, multiple ducks, grebes, gulls and more during the Waterfowl Welcome on March 30, from 9-10:30 a.m. at LaDue Reservoir, Valley Road parking lot just east of Auburn Corners at Route 44 and Washington Street.

Registration not required for either program.

Boat Safety Education Course

The Ohio Boating Education Course will be offered on three consecutive Monday nights: April 1, 8 and 15, from 6-9 p.m., in the Oak Room at The West Woods, 9465 Kinsman Road in Novelty, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Watercraft Ashtabula.

The fee for the course is $5, which covers the cost of course materials. Interested persons may register to take the course by calling 440-964-0518.

The Ohio Boating Education Course covers a variety of boating topics such as the navigation rules of the road, boating and personal safety equipment, navigational signage, Ohio boating laws and much more.

Ohio law requires any person born on or after Jan. 1, 1982, to be able to show proof they have successfully completed an approved boating safety education course if they operate any watercraft powered by a motor greater than 10 horsepower.

For more information on Ohios boating requirements, education classes and other boating opportunities and programs, contact the Division of Watercraft at 440-964-0518 and visit the agencys website at www.ohiodnr.com/watercraft.