Field Trips on Thursday, September 8

Maps will be emailed to all who register. Participants will meet at the site for all trips, unless noted otherwise.

Select one trip on either Thursday or Saturday (you may register for one trip each day for an additional fee.) Trips are rain or shine. Travel time is based on travel from Cleveland.

Tour a Zero Energy Building: Oberlin College Lewis Center

Leaders: Judy Semroc and Larry Rosche, Conservation Specialists, CMNH and Cheryl Wolfe, Oberlin College

The Lewis Center is an all electric building and was designed with maximum energy efficiency in mind. The Lewis Center generates its own on-site electricity through a roof mounted 60 kW photovoltaic (PV) system and a 100 kW PV system located over the parking lot. Because of this, it is a net zero energy building (ZEB). Travel by Museum van.

Limit: 12. Fee: $10. Travel Time: 45 minutes

Seine the Conneaut Creek

Leaders: Dr. Timothy Matson, Curator of Vertebrate Zoology and Roberta Muehlheim, Asst. Curator of Vertebrate Zoology, CMNH

Join Museum Zoologists as they seine for fish in the Conneaut Creek at the Museum’s Blakeslee/Barrows Preserve. The stretch of the Conneaut is home to very high fish diversity and you may even see one of the less common species --Bigeye Chub. In addition, attendees could see several species of Darter, including Rainbow, Greenside and Johnny. Plan to get in the creek and assist during this field trip!
Travel Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Steiner Woods

Leaders: Dr. Jim Bissell, Curator of Botany and David Kriska, Biodiversity Coordinator, CMNH

Join Naturalists for a tour to the Steiner Tract at the Grand River Terraces. This forest is dominated by more than 50 to 80 percent red and Shumard oaks--many of which are three and four feet in diameter. The mature forests within several other sections of the 880-acre Grand River Terraces are dominated by sugar maple, beech and hemlock. Under global climate change models, the climate of northeastern Ohio in 80 years will be equivalent to northern Alabama where oak and pine now flourish so the oaks on should survive. However, the beech, sugar maple and hemlock will likely decline throughout northeastern Ohio because the appropriate climate for these species is expected to shift to northern New England.
Travel Time: 1 hour

Stebbins Gulch: A Hike Through Geologic History

Leaders: Roger Gettig, Holden Arboretum

Follow the streambed as it cuts through bedrock dating back millions of years and explore the plant communities resulting from this special geological feature. This is a rigorous hike requiring a good degree of physical fitness and balance. Proper footwear is imperative and should be appropriate for climbing, walking through mud and high water conditions.
Travel Time: 45 minutes

Field Trips on Saturday, September 10

Maps will be emailed to all who register. Participants will meet at the site for all trips, unless noted otherwise.

Select one trip on either Thursday or Saturday (you may register for one trip each day for an additional fee.) Trips are rain or shine.

Green Building Walking Tour of University Circle

Tour guide: Michele Kilroy, Executive Director of NEO Chapter USGBC

University Circle is comprised of nearly 45 member institutions – many of them pursuing "greening up" their design, construction and operations. Join us as we stroll around University Circle stopping at five locations to learn and see their individual sustainability initiatives from alternative energy installations to waste / recycling applications to stormwater management. Our tour guides will also be sharing a one page handout that list the many, many green highlights from other University Circle institutions who are emerging as a green leaders in Northeast Ohio. Planned stops along the tour include: Wade Oval Visitors Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Hawken School at Gries Center/ Montessori High School, Case Western Reserve University, Abington Arms / MOCA.

Singer Lake Bog

Leaders: Judy Semroc and Larry Rosche, Conservation Specialists, CMNH

Join Museum Naturalists for a close-up look at Singer Lake Bog, one of the largest and most pristine bog systems remaining in Ohio. The mile-long bog supports thirty-five state listed plants, as well as rarities in the Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) groups. In addition to these rare species, Singer Lake Bog is a haven for nesting as well as migrating bird species. The floating bog mat provides a unique experience to view special plants that live in a very unusual, glacially-created ecosystem.
Travel Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Koelliker Fen

Leaders: Dr. Jim Bissell, Curator of Botany and Stanley Stine, Conservation Specialist, CMNH

Join Museum Naturalists for a tour of Koelliker Fen, an Alder-Sedge Fen. The fen supports several rare plants, moths and dragonflies. Many of its rare plants are northern species representing southern disjunct populations. Some glacial fens in northeastern Ohio may be well buffered against the predicted higher temperatures of global climate change models because cold springs which sustain the fen are delivered from large deposits of glacial sand and gravel.
Travel Time: 45 minutes