Cincinnati Wildflower Preservation Society

(Ohio Native Plant Society, SW Ohio Chapter)  

Website Updated Monday January 23, 2012 at 9:00 PM

Our hikes and lectures are free and open to the public, (but we depend on our memberships to cover our expenses.)  Like to learn about Cincinnati Native Plants ? The Cincinnati Wild Flower Preservation Society welcomes you to our great (and free) events. All are welcome. 
                       ------------------January 2012--------------------

You missed our Jan 13 lecture at Avon Woods, 44 attended this lecture on our local Dragonflies and Damselflies presented by Bill Hull.

You missed our Jan 21 tour of CREW Plant Research Center at Cincy Zoo lead by Dr. Valerie Pence.  Because of the ice, only 13 attended, though 31 had RSVP'd . We may try to repeat this event in the next year or two, if we have enough interest. 

                     ------------------February 2012--------------------  

Friday, February 10, 2012, 7:30 pm: Lecture Program at Avon Woods Nature Center, “195 Years of Cincinnati Parks” presented by Michael George, Director, Trailside Nature Center (Burnet Woods), Cincinnati Parks

Dating to the creation of Piatt Park in 1817, a tremendous network of parks, greenspaces, and preserves enhances our quality of life in the Queen City. Please join us as Michael George, a longtime Park Board naturalist with a special interest in park history, explores the evolution of the public park movement here. He'll discuss some of the visionaries and officials who made the parks we love today, and share documents and images from Park Board archives. 

Directions to Avon Woods Nature Center:  

Most of our meetings are held at Avon Woods Nature Center, a Cincinnati park located at 4235 Paddock Road, in the Paddock Hills/North Avondale neighborhood.

From I-75 or I-71, take the Norwood Lateral, Route 562,

From the Norwood Lateral, take the Paddock Road exit.  

Now Drive 9/10 mile south on Paddock. (passing across Tennessee Ave. and little Egan Hills Drive or your right)

Turn sharp right into the park driveway next to the park sign (on the WEST side of Paddock)

Follow the long dark driveway to the lodge at the end.

To see a google map, click here 

**Sunday, February 19, 2012, 1:00 – 3:30 pm: Documentary, Civic Garden Center

“Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time”

Join members of CWFPS, Wild Ones and Western Wildlife Corridor for a viewing of Green Fire, a documentary that explores the life and legacy of famed conservationist Aldo Leopold, perhaps best known as author of A Sand County Almanac. The film shares highlights from Leopold’s life and extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped the concept of conservation and the modern environmental movement. It also illustrates Leopold’s continuing influence by exploring current projects that connect people and land at the local level.

Meet urban children in Chicago learning about local foods and ecological restoration. Meet ranchers in Arizona and New Mexico who maintain healthy landscapes by working in cooperative community conservation efforts. Meet biologists who are bringing threatened species, from cranes to Mexican wolves, back to the landscapes where they once thrived. Learn how Leopold’s vision of a community that cares about people and land ties these modern stories together to offer inspiration and insight for the future.

RSVP to Christine Hadley at 513-850-9585 or email .

Directions:

From the north: Take I-71S to exit 3 onto Taft Road. Take the first right onto Reading Road, then turn left onto Oak Street and immediately left into the CGC parking lot, which is small; nearby street parking is also available. The address for the Civic Garden Center is 2715 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH45206. CGC is located between Oak and Taft on the grounds of the Hauck Botanic Garden (“Sooty Acres”).

Alternately From the south: take I-71 N to exit 2 on the left, merging onto US 42N/Reading Road, and travel 1.2 miles to Oak Street.) 

For a driving map, click here . 

For a map of the Civic Garden Center and Hauck Botanic Garden, click here .

---------------- March 2012 ----------------

Friday, March 9, 2012, Potluck, Annual Meeting & Lecture, Northern Hills Fellowship, 460 Fleming Road, Cincinnati 45231 

Come to any part or all of the annual meeting.

5:45 pm Appetizers and fellowship

6:15 pm Covered dish potluck dinner (Contact Karen Lockwood at 513-385-8650 or  for food assignment)

7:30 pm Annual meeting and program:

“Botanical Detectives at Work”

Steve McKee, Director, Gorman Nature Center, Richland County Park District

Learn how to find “missing” plants and listen to Steve’s stories of being a botanical sleuth in his home county of Richland. Some species, most notably the rose pogonia orchid, Pogonia ophioglossoides, were known from historical records, but no one had been able to relocate the orchid and some other species that Steve includes. His talk charts his efforts, some successful, some not, to rediscover these plants. The program is designed to encourage the amateur plant seeker and to kindle a spirit of exploration. 

Directions to Northern Hills Fellowship:  Twice a year in December and March, we have meetings (with a potluck dinner) at Northern Hills Fellowship located at 460 Fleming Road.  Fleming Road runs East-West  between Winton Road and Springfield Pike, and is just North of the Suburb of Wyoming, Ohio. Look for our Cincinnati Wildflower Sign, since the church sign is small. For a google map click here

 ---------------- April 2012 ----------------

Saturday, April 7, 2012, 10:00 am: Field Trip, Highland Cemetery, Kenton County, Kentucky

The Highland Cemetery is on a tract of land of more than 250 acres, half of which is presently undeveloped and used for nature trails. The facility contains three lakes, hundreds of large trees, and rolling hills, waterfalls and streams. 150 acres are currently managed to enhance wildlife habitat, with snags left in place and nestboxes added for various songbirds and raptors. There are more than four miles of hiking trails, routed to minimize disturbance.

The Highland Cemetery natural area is one of greater Cincinnati’s best places for spring ephemerals, and if current weather trends prevail we should be seeing them around their peak. The preserve is a rugged, hilly patch of land crisscrossed by streams, so it is geologically as well as botanically interesting. A few pioneer features, such as a stone springhouse, can also be seen.

Please let Christine Hadley know if you will be attending at 513-850-9585 or .

Directions:From Cincinnati, take I-75 south entering Kentucky to exit 188 (Fort Mitchell, Dixie Highway South). Off the exit, turn left onto Dixie Highway and drive about 0.4 mile, crossing over the highway, and turn left into the cemetery; its white gates are located directly across from Kroger and Expressway Plaza Shopping Center. Take all right-hand turns after you enter the cemetery to find the trailhead and park there. The address is 2167 Dixie Highway, Fort Mitchell, KY 41017.  For a map to the cemetery, click here .

**Friday, April 13, 2012, 6-9 pm Western Wildlife Corridor Wildflower Festival, College of Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, Ohio

Check out www.westernwildlifecorridor.org for more details.

Sunday, April 15, 2012, 1:00 pm: Field Trip, Sycamore Park, Clermont County, Ohio

Marjie Becus will lead us through this Clermont County park of 158 acres. We expect to see various species of spring flowers along the 0.54 mile Wildflower Trail. Afterwards, we will take another trail for anyone who wants a longer walk. The park is along the East Fork of the Little Miami River and contains floodplain and hills. Please let Christine Hadley know if you will be attending at 513-850-9585 or .

Directions: From the intersection of I-275 and St. Rt. 32 (on the east side of Cincinnati) go east on St. Rt. 32 for 5.5 miles and take the Batavia exit. Keep right at the fork to go on West Main Street. 0.6 miles later turn right at the light onto Foundry Ave./St. Rt. 132. This intersection is just before the bridge over the East Fork of the Little Miami. Approximately 1 mile down Foundry Avenue turn left into Sycamore Park and we will meet in the parking lot near the foot bridge. The Park address, 4082 State Route 132, Batavia, OH45103 .  For a driving map from I-275, click  here  .  For a park map, click here .

** April 20-22, 2012: Southern Ohio Wildflower Pilgrimage (aka Highlands Nature Sanctuary)

Covers the five-county Arc of Appalachia Preserve Region of southern Ohio. This major weekend event (not a Society event) has a variety of excellent hikes led by experienced naturalists and botanists. Call 937-365-1935 or go towww.arcofappalachia.org/events/wildflower.html for more info.

**Saturday, April 28, 2012, All Day: Western Wildlife Corridor 8th Annual Flower-a-thon

This fundraiser event, sponsored by Western Wildlife Corridor, features teams competing in Western Hamilton County to identify the most flowering plants in one day. Form your own team or join one. Contact Tim Sisson at 513-922-2104 or  for more info. Check out www.westernwildlifecorridor.org for more details.

Sunday, April 29, 2012, 1:00 pm: Field Trip, Miami Meadows Park, Clermont County, Ohio

Dan Boone will lead us through this Miami Township park. We’re hoping to see a few Ohio endangered plants, the annual Ranunculus pusillus (low spearwort) and Agrostis elliottiana (Elliott’s bentgrass) as well as Viola affinis and various interesting plants of wetlands, pin oak flatwoods and Illinoian till plain. Please let Christine Hadley know if you will be attending at 513-850-9585 or .

Directions: Take I-275 (on the east side of Cincinnati) to exit 57, go east on St. Rt. 28, which becomes St. Rt. 28 Bypass and again St. Rt. 28.

Turn right onto Buckwheat Road. 1.8 miles later turn left onto St. Rt. 131, traveling 0.7 miles to the park entrance sign. Turn left into the park and drive straight to the end of the street (near the dog park) and park in the parking lot. The park address is 1546 State Route 131, Milford, OH45150.  For a map from I-275,
click  here .

 ---------------- May 2012 ----------------

**May 4-6, 2012: Flora-Quest

Southern Ohio counties, including the Edge of Appalachia preserve and ShawneeStateForest. Another major weekend event with a variety of field trips, workshops, and speakers, again led by gifted naturalists and botanists. For more information, go to www.flora-quest.com

or call 419-683-8952.

The Society’s May events will be in the next newsletter coming the end of April 2012.

If you are not yet a member, you are welcome to attend events.  All of our events are free and open to the public.  Of course if you enjoy our events, as I think you will,  it is nice to join to help support the Society. Our hikes and lectures are excellent, in a wonderful casual atmosphere.  You will have the opportunity to talk with our speakers after the meetings. Our hike leaders are knowledgeable and will be glad to point out the plants that we are seeing.