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Environmental
Education Kits
Naturalist Notes
Nature Alerts
Student Resources
Environmental
Education Kits
The Portage Park District is committed to serving the county by
providing education opportunities. With
12 miles of trails and 435 acres of diverse woodlands and wetlands that
support an abundance of wildlife species, the park is the ideal
classroom. While we are aware of this, we understand the difficulties
involved in actually bringing students out to such a resource.
In an attempt to serve educators and students we have acquired funding
from the Portage County Environmental Awards Dinner and Ruth Meade
Memorial Fund to develop Environmental Education Resource Kits that
will be available on loan through the County District Library system.
These kits will enhance any elementary or middle school classroom
discussion, covering various topics and issues such as wetlands,
forests, farming and farmland preservation, environmental action
projects, and Native Americans. Our mini kits cover owls, bats,
butterflies, and biomes. Each kit contains various brochures, posters,
hands-on activities, audio or vidiotapes, and other such items.
We have also developed programs and hikes to go along with these
materials. Please call your library or contact Program Coordinator Dawn
Alber at the Portage Park District at 330.297.7228 for more information.
Naturalists
Notes: January, February and March 2008

JANUARY:
This January keep your eyes out for woodpeckers. These fascinating
birds will be here for even the harshest parts of Winter. Take special
note of the pileated woodpecker (North America's largest). Pileated
woodpeckers have a signature red crest on the top their heads and two
white lines on their throats. Take care to minding your feet as well;
although you may not see them, meadow voles welcome the snow in fields
and meadows. This is where they will make their tunnels and homes until
Spring.

FEBRUARY: Look out for skunks in February. Our favorite foul-smelling
mammal will be waking up in droves and looking for food after using
their fat stores while slumbering away the past few months. By the
fourth week of February, the red-winged blackbirds should be back.

MARCH: March is the perfect time for wilderness exploration. The great
blue herons start their return; first along the Cuyahoga and then, as
the ice melts, they will fish in ponds or lakes. The spring peepers
will "peep," signaling Spring's arrival. By this time, most of the
bucks will have lost their antlers. If you keep an eye out, you just
may see a few still wearing them!
Nature Alerts
• Beavers are active in Lake Pippin, check out their work on
the Bigtooth Aspen along the Lakeside Trail at Towner’s
Woods.Naturalist’s recommendations for a good read –
“Winter World – The Ingenuity of Animal
Survival“by Bernd Heinrich, HarperCollins Publisher ISBN
0060957379
Student Resources
Ask A+ Locator, The Virtual Reference Desk
eNature.com
Online Field Guides
National Association of Conservation
District's Internet Resources
National Audubon Society
National Park Service
Ohio Division of Wildlife's Wildlife
Resources
The
Nature Conservancy
US EPA Student Center
US Geological Survey's "The Learning Web"
US
Fish and Wildlife Service
New American Dream
Groundspring
GreenCityBlueLake
- The future of Northeast Ohio
email
- phone 330.297.7728 - 128 N. Prospect St. Ravenna, Ohio 44266
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