Sciotofest Part 1: Yappy Hour

September 12, 2019

Yappy Hour is back again! This time as part of the first-ever Sciotofest! 

We started the four-day festival with our favorite fundraiser, featuring food, dogs, and beer in the park! Food was provided by our favorite food truck, Explorers Club, and we served up Seventh Son beer along with cans of our new Metro Parks beer by Land Grant, Outpost Rustic Lager!

If you are interested in becoming a vendor in our next Yappy Hour, please contact Melissa at friends@metroparks.net!

Anyway, here’s some dogs and humans having a great time! See you next year!

2nd Annual Nature Classic Golf Tournament

On July 19, 2019 The Friends of Metro Parks held their second annual Nature Classic Golf tournament at Blacklick Woods Metro Park. This fundraiser brought in over $5000 to help support the Friends of Metro Parks nonprofit organization. These funds help us to further our mission to enhance public use and enjoyment of our parks, seek out public support, and advocate for our parks for the current and future generations. 

Special thanks to our sponsors…

Yappy Hour: Walnut Woods

Yappy Hour is one of our very favorite yearly events. An event with beer, food, and dogs? What can be better?! Our first ever Yappy Hour was at Scioto Audubon Metro Park, and last year we decided to expand to some of our other parks. This year, we are kicking off the summer at Walnut Woods.  

The purpose of Yappy Hour (besides having a GREAT time) is to introduce dog owners to some of the awesome resources that are offered at the Metro Parks. Dog parks are a great way for mans best friend to get out and get some exercise, leading to happy, healthy dogs. Not only that, but it gives dog owners a chance to let their dogs run off leash in a safe environment.

Walnut Woods features two areas, one for big dogs, and one for small! The big dog area features a swimming hole where your pups can take a dip and splash around on hot summer days. Both dog parks offer plenty of shade and lots of open space to run.  Both of these areas are fenced in so that the dogs are safely contained.

As always, we invited a food truck and a local brewery to help us out with Yappy Hour. Seventh Son has been our tried-and-true favorite brewery for Yappy Hour, and provided us with some tasty beers to help really start off the summer right. The Explorers Club also came by to provide some great food for the evening! Both of our vendors have always been excellent additions to our favorite yearly fundraiser!

Catch us on September 12 at Scioto Audubon for our next Yappy Hour, kicking off Sciotofest!

Spring Friends Only Hike: Shafer Property

It was a warm spring afternoon and the Friends of Metro Parks gathered in an empty lot off of Cambria Lane. We snacked and fueled up for what was promised to be an exciting off-trail hike through one of the newest properties obtained by Metro Parks in Blendon Township. Last April, we took a hike through the same property, but with it being later in the year, we were all excited to see what spring would bring to the space.  

Our Naturalist and guide for the afternoon, Bruce, gathered us around, told us to stay close and explained that the land we were about to hike through was a little muddy due to all of the rain we had recently, and that there were no real trails throughout the property. We would be stopping at the eagles nest, and also stopping along the way to talk about some of the other cool things that were popping up over the springtime.  

Photo: A. Jackson

So we set off! This time around, as we entered the wooded area of the property, we were immediately shaded by the fresh leaves sprouting from the tips of branches high above us. One of the interesting characteristics of this new land are the huge mature oak trees that create so much shade that the understory is mostly clear of invasive plants such as the Japanese Honeysuckle. 

Photo: J. Bethea

This spring, pockets of sunlight hitting the ground allowed small patches of wildflowers to bloom, and the weather was perfect for finding all sorts of unique fungi sprouting up at the bases of trees, along the tops of downed logs, and hiding out in the damp recesses of the forest floor, the vibrant orange and red splotches peeping out from the mud and moss.

Photo: J. Bethea

One month made a world of difference in the scenery of the property. On our last hike, it was cold, grey, and most trees were still completely barren, really allowing you to focus on the hills, creeks, and all of the vast open space between the trees. One month later and the entire property was engulfed in bright green leaves, the beginnings and ends of early spring wildflowers, and evidence of people exploring and hiking throughout the land after a year of Metro Parks ownership.

We stopped along a ridge and looked out at the Big Walnut Creek, stopped to see the eagles nest, and then headed back through the fresh spring growth. We lost our trail for a while, popping out in a driveway down the street while trying to find our cars, but quickly turned ourselves around and trudged back through to familiar scenery. If we didn’t get lost at least once, it wouldn’t have been an adventure!

Earth Week in the Metro Parks

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 as a way to support environmental protection in the US. Now, after 39 years, Earth Day is celebrated worldwide with events coordinated to focus on fixing environmental issues across 194 different countries. 

On April 13th, the Friends of Metro Parks coordinated a cleanup at Scioto Grove Metro Park.  We started at the canoe access point and worked our way down the REI river trail, removing plastic bags, cans, bottles, a toolbox, styrofoam, a piece of a swingset, and a small plastic bike, in addition to a lot of other litter from the banks along the river. When it rains, or when snow melts, the trash from all over Columbus is washed down the river and ends up at Scioto Grove Metro Park. Many thanks to those who came to help clean up this trail!

The Friends of Metro Parks were also lucky enough to host an event on April 26th at Highbanks Metro Park with the help from a corporate group looking to do their part! The volunteers donned work gloves and braved the drizzly cold to help prepare the park for spring by weeding and mulching the beds at the Northern and Mansion shelter houses. Volunteers were also instrumental in a honeysuckle and garlic mustard removal project that filled two Metro Parks trucks and cleared the under story of all the invasive plants.

We are very thankful for these volunteers and hope to continue a partnership with them in the future. Many hands make light work, and these sorts of projects save the park employees a lot of time that they can instead spend on making our parks amazing! 

If you are interested in coordinating a cleanup or a project, reach out to friends@metroparks.net to set up details and help out the parks for Earth Day!

Friends Only Hike: Chestnut Ridge

March 16th, 2019

The Friends of Metro Parks were met with bright blue skies, brilliant sunshine, and the first taste of spring for a Friends Only hike at Chestnut Ridge Metro Park. Naturalist Greg Wittman gave a quick overview of the “end of winter” hike we were about to embark on, and 32 Friends took off up the ridge.  

One of the most exciting parts of a Friends of Metro Parks membership is the access to some exclusive opportunities. Chestnut Ridge is open to the public every day, but it’s not every day that there is a guided hike with a naturalist to provide insight into the history and ecology of the park, and it’s not every day that you get access to some of the parks lesser-known features.

The Friends filed down, off-trail, to an old sandstone quarry, that normally remains unnoticed from the regular trails vantage point. Greg Wittman, the Naturalist guiding our hike, called attention to the iron deposits within the sandstone, and told us about the time when he followed the path of a bobcat into the quarry, through thorns and over rocks and to eventually find more evidence that a big animal had definitely been in the area recently.

We scrambled out of the quarry, one by one, and continued up the hill to the “concrete henge” of Chestnut Ridge, where a water tower used to sit back when the land was used as an apple orchard.

Onward up the hill, we came to a clearing where the farmhouse stood, but all that was left was a brick foundation and traces of the life that was once lived there. Looking out over the fresh sprouts of what would soon be daffodils was that iconic “Chestnut Ridge” picture. Beautiful, even at the very end of winter, with the promise of spring just a few weeks away.

We ended this hike at the docks overlooking the pond, invigorated by the crisp end-of-winter air, warmed by the spring sunshine, and excited for what the Friends have in store for the rest of the year.  

Winter Hike Story: Kristin Marks

The gray and dull skies of January and February in Ohio were hardly felt when the Metro Parks winter hikes began. Bundling up, putting on two pair of socks, and waiting in line for soup to warm the bones was something to look forward to each weekend. This year was especially eventful with hikes during snow, rain, and ice. There were even warm days where a coat was not needed!

The Columbus community gathered to celebrate fitness and nature - many with their dogs, and babies begin pulled in sleds or in backpacks. Each person has their favorite park, whether it be because of location, wildlife, or the trails themselves. The Sharon Woods hike was just beautiful this year. Snow started falling shortly after the start time, creating a magical winter wonderland for hikers of all ages.

Not all hikers were able to make the weekend dates, like me and my trail buddy. We are determined to get a walking stick, though, and will be making up the parks we missed during March. We will be chasing down the rangers for our hole punches!

If you have not attended a hike during the Metro Parks Winter Hike Series, make 2020 your year. Seriously, get out in the fresh air even if it is cold and snowy. This is your reason to be outside during the cold months, besides shoveling the driveway. Fresh air and physical activity is vital to health: both emotional and physical. Plus, it is a great activity to get family and friends together.

State of the Metro Parks: Recap

On January 20th, Friends members and Metro Parks volunteers braved the cold to attend the third annual State of the Metro Parks event at the new Eagleview Lodge at the Blacklick Woods Golf Course. Speakers included Metro Parks Director Tim Moloney and Friends of Metro Parks President Aryeh Alex, who recapped the last year at Metro Parks with a highlight on our Issue 3 levy campaign that passed with 63.7% of the votes in Franklin County, keeping the Metro Parks funded for an additional 10 years. Friends of Metro Parks board member Rita Volpi led a discussion focused on levy promises and looking forward, and Tim Skinner, Friends of Metro Parks Vice President, presented the Metro Parks volunteer of the year awards. Of those volunteers, one was awarded the overall Metro Parks volunteer of the year award.  The awards winners from each park are listed below.

Blacklick Woods: Bonnie Wildermuth
Blacklick Golf Course: Brad Bohrer
Blendon Woods: Skip & Bonnie Decker
Battelle Darby Creek: Penny Reighart
Highbanks: Rajat Saksena
Sharon Woods: Ken Brandol
Slate Run: Lori Patterson
Slate Run Farm: Jan Hatfield
Inniswood: Amy Girvin
Clear Creek: Linda Benner
Three Creeks: Cindy Dials
Glacier Ridge: Carl Gledisch
Homestead: Eunice Hornsby
Scioto Audubon: Kile King
Greenways: Bob Campbell
Walnut Woods: Jerry Jacobs
Scioto Grove: David Deslaurier
Resource Management: Linda Benner
Friends of Metro Parks: Jen Cliff

Metro Parks Volunteer of the Year: Rajat Saksena

The Friends of Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks would like to express our gratitude to everyone who helped to support our efforts in 2018. Our volunteers and Friends of Metro Parks Members help to make our Metro Parks extraordinary!

Passport to Metro Parks

The Friends of Metro Parks kicked off their Passport to Metro Parks program on Saturday, June 16th at Sharon Woods Metro Park.  This grant-funded program was developed by the Friends of Metro Parks along with the Metro Parks to encourage exploration of the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks district. 

So how does it work?

Step 1: Get a passport! They can be found at the nature centers at Highbanks, Blacklick Woods, Blendon Woods, and Battelle Darby Creek. 

Step 2: Visit each location listed on the passport.  There are three locations at each park!

Step 3: After visiting, go and find a staff member to stamp your passport. They should be at each ranger station and nature center, as well as in park vehicles. 

Step 4: When your passport is complete, take it back to a nature center and turn in your passport.  This will tell us how many t-shirts and swag bags to order or put together.

Step 5: Join us at the Blacklick 70th anniversary party on October 20th to get your t-shirts or swag bags! We start off the program with a party, and we will end it with one too!

In the meantime share photos using #MetroParksPassport on Instagram and tag @metroparkfriend to show off your adventures!

Catch some photos of our Passport to Metro Parks kickoff event!

More questions? Check out our FAQ here: Passport FAQ

Yappy Hour: June 2018

Another year, another Yappy Hour.  This year, hundreds of people braved the traffic to visit Scioto Audubon Metro Park with their best friends.  This year was our first year that we offered vending opportunities to the public! These vendors added a little something extra to an already killer event... so it is safe to say that they will stick around! 

Food was provided by Explorers Club, beer was provided by Seventh Son, and all the good pups were provided by YOU!!! We can't thank you all enough for coming out to visit us, and for spreading the word about Yappy Hour to your friends and family.  We will see you next time!

A special thanks to our vendors:
Seventh Son
Explorers Club
Homedog Resort
Clintonville Outfitters
HelloFresh
Ohio State University Vet School
All About The Dogs Pet Wash
Friends of the Shelter