Fri 5/20-Sat 5/21
We are so lucky to have a national park nearby that we can walk, drive, or cycle into any time we want without a national park pass. Our amazing Cuyahoga Valley National Park gets even more amazing with the BioBlitz this weekend.
It’s not just here, the BioBlitz is a national event commemorating the National Park Service’s Centennial. During 24 hours beginning Friday and ending Saturday, a whole lot of people will converge on the parks with microscopes and nets and telescopes and cameras to identify as many living species as possible. Cuyahoga Valley National Park hosts the signature event in the Midwest Region. How many plants, animals, fungi, and microbes do we have here?
Should be interesting. You can watch a video overview at https://www.nps.gov/cuva/bioblitz.htm/.
It may not be too late to be a volunteer. Success depends on high participation. Workers can choose from among six site locations ranging from the Rockside Boarding Station to Virginia Kendall Lake in Peninsula.
While volunteers and scientists are busy trampling through the forests, those of us who are just curious and want to be part of this historic event can attend the two-day Biodiversity Festival. Food, crafts, yoga, biowalks, live animal demonstrations and hands-on science will all be happening at Howe Meadow Fri 5/20 @ 11am-6pm and Sat 5/21 @ 9am-2pm. Alex Bevan, the Funkyard Experiment and other musicians will provide the background music.
Those of us who remember when the Cuyahoga Valley National Park wasn’t a fully designated park and have been trampling around looking for Old Man’s Cave for decades may not know that the park is the 11th most visited national park in the United States, with 20 percent of the visitors beng from outside the state. The park has become so popular that the Conservancy is planning a new visitor center that it hopes will open in the next few years.
In the meantime, we have our places along the towpath, including Canal Exploration Center in Valley View, Boston Store, and Howe Meadow, where you’ll find the Biofest. Howe Meadow is located at 4040 Riverview Road, Peninsula.
CoolCleveland contributor Claudia Taller wrote about Cleveland and the North Coast in her nonfiction book Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries and her novel Daffodils and Fireflies. Find out more at claudiajtaller.com/.
4040 Riverview Road, Peninsula, OH 44264