Crawford Parks hosting February events

CRESTLINE — The Crawford Park District has announced upcoming events.

Animals Face to Face: Snakes is 10 a.m. Saturday at Lowe-Volk Park, 2401 Ohio 598. The Crawford Park District invites families to come meet the Nature Center’s snakes up close — attendees may be surprised to find they are smooth and soft, not slimy. Join Naturalist Chelsea to interact with and learn about the district’s friendly resident snakes, including an eastern fox snake, an eastern milk snake, and a corn snake. The event is fun for all ages. Lowe-Volk Park is located 3 miles north of U.S. 30. 

iNaturalist Tutorial is 2 p.m. Saturday at Lowe-Volk Park. Ever wondered which plants, fungi, insects, or other animals are visible when taking a walk through the woods, or even in the backyard? iNaturalist is a website/app that helps identify anything alive in nature, while also contributing to scientific research. Join Crawford Park District Naturalist Chelsea to learn how to navigate the iNaturalist website, how to use its features, and how to be a contributor to citizen science. 

Woodpeckers is 7 p.m. Wednesday at Lowe-Volk Park. Join Crawford Park District Naturalist Warren Uxley at the Lowe-Volk Park Nature Center for this informative program on woodpeckers. Charismatic and fascinating, woodpeckers cast their spell over all of us. This will be a PowerPoint program that investigates their lives: habitat, breeding biology, ecology and their haunting calls will be examined in depth. 

Winter Indoor Bird Watching is 8 a.m. Feb. 12 at Lowe-Volk Park. Winter months provide unique opportunities to observe common winter bird species from close distances all from the comfort of being indoors. Set out a bird feeder and watch the birds flock in for an easy meal. Enjoy donuts and hot beverages with the Crawford Park District staff inside the Nature Center, as we sit and observe common birds that visit our bird feeders. Binoculars are recommended. 

Stewardship is 11 a.m. Feb. 12 at Daughmer Savannah, 786 Marion Melmore Road.  Winter is coming to an end and vegetation is slowly coming back to life. This change in seasonality means a transition for our Natural Resource Crew in managing for invasive species. Join Crawford Park District staff for our last monthly Stewardship Program where the focus will be on removing woody species such as such as Glossy Buckthorn (Frangula alnus), Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), Honeysuckle (Amur sp.) and Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima). There will be a brief introduction about stewardship and our target species before heading out into the field. Closed toe shoes, long sleeves and pants are required. There is a possibility of contact with poison ivy. Dress for the weather. Some gloves and loppers will be available. Daughmer Savannah located at 786 Marion-Melmore Road just north of Ohio 294. 

Ootheca Collection Hike  is 2 p.m. Feb. 12 at Unger Park 1303 Bucyrus-Nevada Road. Join Crawford Park District Naturalist Abby for a hike to search for the Ootheca (egg case) of praying mantises. Come learn why we are taking these non-native animals out of the wild, and how you can keep them to watch them emerge in the spring with the potential of having a new pet. Unger Park is located just west of Bucyrus on Bucyrus-Nevada Road.

For information on other programs offered by the Crawford Park District, call 419-683-9000 or visit  www.crawfordpd.org or follow us on Facebook.