Celebrate the arrival of spring with Black Swamp Conservancy and Green Ribbon Initiative partners during Oak Openings Region Blue Week, May 10-16, 2021.
Blue Week provides an opportunity to learn about the globally unique Oak Openings region, an area with the highest concentration of rare and endangered species in Ohio. The name Blue Week hails the region’s many blue plants and animals, including Karner blue butterflies, wild blue lupine, bluebirds, blue spotted salamanders, blue herons and blue racer snakes.
This year we are celebrating the beauty of biodiversity. Participants can explore the region at one of several organized hikes with a naturalist or discover area gems at their leisure with self-guided tours and activities such as the Blue Week Scavenger Hunt and Oak Openings Photo Contest. Black Swamp Conservancy is hosting one of the self-guided activities this year – a walk through the newly planted native gardens at our homestead property, located at 4825 Sugar Ridge Rd. in Pemberville.
Kids will love the storybook trail at Olander Park or listening for frogs and playing a lifecycle game the Frogtastic Night event. The whole family can enjoy a bike ride along the Mosely Trail and earn a commemorative Green Ribbon Initiative water bottle for finishing.
Gardeners will want to check out the GRI online, attend one of several virtual events about incorporating native plants into the landscape, or attend a workshop to build a rain barrel.
For a complete list of activities and locations, visit oakopenings.org/blue-week.
“Most people think that you need to travel far to see spectacular plants and animals, but we have an abundance of them right here in the Oak Openings,” says Ashlee Decker, The Nature Conservancy’s Green Ribbon Initiative Partner Specialist. “Oak Openings Blue Week is all about raising awareness and revealing the wonders of our home. We can all feel proud to live in the Oak Openings.”
Black Swamp Conservancy is a member of The Green Ribbon Initiative, a partnership of public and private organizations, landowners and individuals working to preserve, enhance, and restore critical natural areas in the Oak Openings Region.
