The Capture the Seasons Photography class scheduled for next Saturday May 25th has been CANCELLED.
Join our Facebook group: Lake 
View Photo Class to share your photos, ask questions and get updates on upcoming classes and outings!
We hope you enjoy the Memorial Day holiday weekend and we’ll see you at our next class on July 13th.
Have questions or need more info? Call (440) 245-1193!
As we past mid-May we approach one of the most colorful times at Schoepfle Garden with the blooming of the rhododendrons in the shade garden. Nearly forty varieties display pinks, reds, whites and purples under the canopy of pine trees. A few are blooming, many others are showing color and we expect to have peak color by mid-week next week. Lilacs, dogwoods, spireas, Japanese kerria, azaleas, bellflower and a few oriental poppies are also blooming. Join a guided garden tour on Saturday the 18th or Sunday the 19th at 2 pm, admission and tours free.
Have you ever found an injured animal, or a baby bird out of its nest, but didn’t know what to do? Human interactions with wildlife are usually well-intended but mostly unnecessary and can even be harmful. While the Lorain County Metro Parks Naturalist Staff can always advise you on the best strategies to interact with injured or seemingly orphaned individuals,this program is your opportunity to gather more information! 
Many of the flowering trees in the garden are blooming for Mother’s Day including the lilacs, redbuds, crabapples, quince, flowering almond, bridalwreath spirea, Japanese kerria, and ornamental cherry. Perennials like the bleeding hearts, columbine and primrose are also blooming. last weekend for the tulips. Join us for Mother’s Day with garden tours at 10am and 11:30 am, continental breakfast ($1 donation) from 9am – 12 pm, and a Mother’s Day craft for the kids. Tram tours from 1 – 4 pm Sunday.
This Oncidium orchid is called “Sherry Baby” and does have a fragrance similar to chocolate. If you stop by the Miller Nature Preserve Conservatory in Avon, make sure you stop to smell the chocolate. If you can’t find the orchid, just ask. We will let you know where it is. Don’t wait too long because it doesn’t bloom forever!
The Blue Wave Agave at Miller Nature Preserve Conservatory has finally bloomed. After watching this fast growing spike for several months, the flowers have opened. This plant only blooms once when it has grown for five years and then dies. But, we will have a chance to see a flower spike like this again – in five years. That is when the pups, or young plants, that have grown around the main plant will produce their own spikes.
HOMESCHOOL: NATURE DISCOVERY DAYS
Theme: “Who Goes There?”
Lorain County Metro Parks’ French Creek Nature Center
Tuesday May 7th, 9:45-11:45 am
Announcing the return of our annual interactive nature-inspired Field Trip opportunity for Kindergarten through 3rd Grade students! Encourage your homeschoolers to learn about nature by taking part of a series of activities set to take place in nature’s classroom this spring.
This year’s focus – OHIO’S WILDLIFE – will be highlighted through each of the activities included in the field trip experience:
• Outdoor Wildlife Hike – Students embark on an hour-long journey along the trail, stopping along the way to engage in interactive activities (with artifacts and live animals) and learn about different types of habitats
• Indoor Program – A showcase of Ohio wildlife species; 30 minute theatre program featuring visual arts, live performance, and audience participation
• Wildlife Art Activity – Create a masterpiece one class at a time! Students participate by class during a 15 minute session to add their efforts to a large mural celebrating Nature Discovery Days
The entire experience (including the Hike, Indoor Program, Art Activity, and a 15-minute break) will take 2 hours. To prepare for this field trip experience, participants will receive a Pre-Field Trip Activity Packet (Classroom Activities and Itinerary). Each student will receive a Nature Discovery Days Medallion, designed to help them track their journey as they experience nature along the trail.
Please note – Pre-registration by 5/6 is required. Preregister online, or call (440) 458-5121. For more information about this unique outdoor classroom activity, or to schedule your class to participate, please reply to Aimee Potonic, French Creek Nature Center Senior Naturalist at apotonic@metroparks.cc or call (440) 949-5200 ext 225.
