HAPPY ACCIDENTS of NATURE Surprising Life Thrives in the Valley

SPRING/SUMMER 2017 VOLUME 2 : ISSUE 2

HAPPY ACCIDENTS OF NATURE Surprising life thrives in the Valley

New Central Visitor Center Coming Inspiring Lifelong Learning Plan leaps forward with purchase of Zielenski Court Hands-on at the Environmental Education Center WELCOME

CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE Spring/Summer 2017, Volume 2 : Issue 2 A LETTER FROM THE CEO & PARK SUPERINTENDENT

CONTACT US 2017 marks a new beginning for the National Park Service. It’s the start of the next 100 1403 West Hines Hill Road years for an agency that has helped shepherd the protection and restoration of our Peninsula Ohio 44264 330-657-2909 country’s most precious places. forCVNP.org We’re grateful for Conservancy members’ support during last year’s NPS Centennial EXECUTIVE STAFF celebration. Through targeted marketing, publicity, and outreach, the Conservancy Deb Yandala Chief Executive Officer helped CVNP welcome over 15,000 visitors to the park for five special Centennial Janice Matteucci events. Park volunteers and Conservancy staff went above and beyond to make sure Chief Operating Officer John P. Debo, Jr. CVNP celebrated the centennial with events focused on engaging our northeast Ohio Chief Development Officer community. Katie Wright Director of CVEEC Now, we’re building on the success of the centennial and planning for the future. Katrina Haas Chief of External Affairs The park’s new Boston Mills Visitor Center project is under way—the biggest capital project the Conservancy has ever undertaken. The Conservancy is working closely with BOARD James Nash, Chairman NPS staff to create a better experience for local and out-of-state visitors. This year is Ellen Perduyn, Vice-Chair dedicated to planning and design, and construction will begin in 2018 (see page 14 for Dione Alexander Michael Byun more information about this exciting project). Pamela A. Carson Deborah Cook The Conservancy’s Board of Directors has created a new initiative focused on diversity, Tina Darcy equity, and inclusion. With this effort, we will strive to assure that the Conservancy and Harold Gaar Thomas E. Green the park are welcoming to all, and that our programs and services reach a diversity of Michael L. Hardy people. Matthew Heinle Emily Holiday Sue Klein This year, we’re also adding new programs at our Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Kathy Leavenworth Education Center to serve more children throughout the region. We continue to maintain Phil LiBassi Jeremy M. Long our strong focus on science and connecting children with nature, as well as building Shawn Lyden interpersonal and collaborative teamwork skills. This is the true benefit of overnight Stephen Metzler Michael Miller camps, especially in today’s environment: learning to get along, sharing meals, and Sandra Morgan working together to solve environmental issues. Dr. Liz Piatt Brett Reynolds Once again, we’re tremendously grateful for the support of Conservancy members, Rick Taylor Teleangé Thomas donors, volunteers, and advocates. You truly make our work possible.

CORPORATE PARTNER: MAGAZINE SPONSOR: Deb Yandala Craig Kenkel Conservancy CEO CVNP Superintendent

COVER PHOTO: Black-eyed Susans, Ed Toerek

THE CONSERVANCY’S PROGRAMS INCLUDE: > Teaching children about nature at the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center. > Co-managing the park’s award-winning volunteer program. > Fostering a rich cultural arts program through music, art, adult education, & more. > Providing visitor services including event facilities, lodging, and stores. > Raising money for national park projects and programs.

SCREECH OWL, PHOTO: RICK MCMEECHAN CONTENTS

Our Vision

Connecting you to your national park. Preserving it for future generations.

GREAT BLUE HERON PAIR, PHOTO: ED TOEREK

Happy Accidents A Story of 2 of Nature 14 Transformation Surprising life thrives in New visitor center to highlight unexpected places transformation of a river, a valley, and a community Inspiring Lifelong 11 Learning Profile in Giving Each week, children experience 19 A volunteer's legacy for magical moments at the Cuyahoga Cuyahoga Valley National Park Valley Environmental Education Center

10 Biomimicry: Learning from Nature 18 Social Media #CVNP 20 Featured Photo

FORCVNP.ORG 1 PARK INSIDER

EASTERN MEADOWLARK HAPPY ACCIDENTS of Nature by Joanna Richards

2 CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2017 ports fans with a history in Northeast Ohio know A cozy nest in the weeds the old Richfield Coliseum site, the arena between S Plona parks her official Park Service vehicle on the Cleveland and Akron that served as an early home for the shoulder of Route 303 West in Richfield Township, just NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Today, for anyone unfamiliar west of the Interstate 271 overpass. As we hike toward with the history, the site is easy to drive by without the center of the field, our boots crunch deeply into the noticing: just another empty space where a building used thick, icy carpet of fallen grasses. to be. After the arena and parking lots were demolished in But there’s much more going on in this apparent void, a 1999, the Park Service spread a grass seed mix here to 90-acre field now owned by the National Park Service. stabilize the soil. Over time, the thought was, the area This site is one of many in Cuyahoga Valley National Park would revert to forest. But in the short term, it quickly where a complex story has unfolded, of both tension and became a haven for invasive plants. collaboration between human activity and nature – and some strange surprises, too. “The Coliseum is a disaster as far as vegetation goes,” says Plona. “It’s totally dominated by non-native plants.” Park Service biologists refer to past locations of industry as “disturbed,” and for good reason. Their topography Still, the National Park Service has maintained this site as may be strange and irregular, their old topsoil stripped a grassland for almost two decades now, mowing areas away. They may be crowded with invasive species. To an in rotating sections each year. urban dweller or layman, they may present a veneer of That’s because of what Dwight and Ann Chasar welcome nature, but to experts, they can look pretty ugly. discovered here. Just a couple years after the buildings Managing these damaged areas is a fact and sometimes were demolished, the long-time birdwatchers and park a frustration for nature-loving scientists working in a volunteers wondered whether any ground-nesting National Park unusual in its history of heavy human birds might have discovered the site. These birds favor use. But there are also rewards. At some of Cuyahoga grassland and need big tracts of it to keep their chicks Valley National Park’s most disturbed sites, pockets of out of sight of hunting hawks perched in tree lines. This unexpected life have taken hold. Park Service Biologist has made them sensitive to habitat destruction from Meg Plona calls them “happy accidents.” development. On a cold afternoon in January, she leads me into the The nearest place the Chasars had seen these kinds of Coliseum site’s frozen field to show me one. birds in significant numbers was on reclaimed strip- mines in Jefferson County, a couple hours’ drive away. In May of 2001, though, they walked into the field where the Richfield Coliseum used to be. It was still bald in places Surprising life and patchy with weeds. They listened. “I’m-a-sah-VAAAAAN-ah,” Dwight sings, using a birdwatchers’ mnemonic to demonstrate what they heard (and sounding eerily bird-like himself). thrives in some “We said, ‘That’s a savannah sparrow singing!’ It was exciting for my wife and me, because we did not know other areas in the National Park where you could find of CVNP’s most those birds, and here they were, in a place that used to be the Coliseum!” Soon Eastern meadowlarks, bobolinks, and grasshopper challenged sites and Henslow’s sparrows had also been seen nesting

FORCVNP.ORG 3 amid the growing tangle of redtop grass, Fuller’s and and know that you had – I had – some part in bringing it cutleaf teasel, phragmites reed, Canada thistle – all there.” invasive plants that make park biologists shudder. Standing in the frozen field in January, Plona reflects on Meg Plona says when the Chasars approached the Park the transformation. “It’s very unusual. I often say it’s a Service with their observations, “It was a great surprise... happy accident.” They certainly were the ones that alerted us to what was But while the birds’ initial appearance was a surprise, going on out here, because this was not an area where their flourishing here today, almost 20 years after we would normally have monitored.” they appeared, is no accident. It’s required active The Park Service ultimately agreed with the birders that management by the Park Service – the mowing to keep the site should be maintained as a permanent grassland. the forest at bay, and volunteer work to remove larger In 2004, the Coliseum nesting ground helped earn the invasive plants one by one. Now a plan is in the works whole park designation as an Important Bird Area by the to try a controlled burn, to see if it could help native national wildlife conservation group Audubon. grasses get a foothold. The Chasars now lead bird walks every November to see A mine full of tadpoles other species, too; migrating Wilson’s snipes and short- Plant ecologist Chris Davis is behind that prescribed eared owls have been recent visitors. Chasar says the burn plan for the Coliseum site. He’s had success using population is always shifting. But one constant – and his the technique to manage invasive species and preserve favorite experience at the site – is the male bobolinks in grassland at the two other highly disturbed sites we’re spring. The striking black and white birds with beige-y about to visit. head stripes swoop though the air, singing, to try to win Davis turns his National Park Service truck off Tinker’s mates. Creek Road in Valley View, and onto a wet, pitted drive at “Seeing them in the air, and hearing them vocalize, it the base of a steep hill. He hops out to open a gate, and makes your heart…bubble!” he says, searching for the we start up an uneven road in what’s officially called the right word to represent the joy this clearly gives him. Terra Vista Natural Study Area. Most park users simply “It’s fun to stand there and see it all and listen to it all refer to it as Terra Vista. We’re going to check out a

PHOTO: RICK MCMEECHAN

Frogs thrive at Terra Vista Natural Study Area, despite the land’s previous use as a mining operation.

4 CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2017 great diversity of stuff,” Davis explains. “If we walk away from this, ten years from now, this will be autumn olive shrub land again.” Prescribed burns every few years will be needed indefinitely in order to prevent that. In other words, while Terra Vista has improved over time, its vegetation still shows major signs of damage. The topography does, too. After mining ceased, “It was kind of lunar – just pits everywhere,” Davis says. “So, like, this is just a weird example.” He gestures to a chunk of forest we’ve just come to, and I peer between the trees. The land dips suddenly into a trench. “There’s holes like this all around here. A lot of them hold water, and they’ve developed into this amphibian community.” Ranger Chris Davis examines plants at Terra Vista This is Terra Vista’s happy accident – its answer to the ground-nesting birds at the Coliseum grassland. On a section of it, about 150 elevated acres of lumpy meadow surface stripped by mining, where native plants are in surrounded by forest. This area was once farmland, but a constant, losing battle with invasive species, frogs is named for the company that later strip-mined it, Terra and salamanders are living the dream. Davis leads me Vista Sand & Gravel. down an old access road to show me closer-up what he’s Like its grandiose name, conjuring the romance of nature talking about. The ground gets increasingly muddy, and from crass commercialism, Terra Vista is a big, strange before we even get to where we’re headed, we stop at grey area ecologically, too. the edge of a puddle, square in the middle of the access When Davis came to Cuyahoga Valley National Park eight road. years ago, “It was the most horrendous site I’d seen in “This looks like nothing,” Davis says – and he’s right – my life,” he said bluntly. “Still, to this day, I’ve never seen “but for frogs, that’s kind of like Mecca.” another spot that’s as filled with invasive species as this.” The puddle is about six feet long by four feet wide in the Autumn olive, a woody shrub that can grow to fifteen middle, no more than five inches deep, with green grass feet high, choked over one hundred acres of the site. It visible beneath the clear water. Davis introduces me to a took heavy equipment and thousands of hardworking vernal pool – the fancier, science-y name for a long-lived volunteers several years to clear it. Last year, Davis puddle, or an ephemeral pond. Vernal pools are seasonal. tried a burn to give native plants some breathing room Because they are isolated from other bodies of water and to return. (Usually natives come back first, then are dry up in the summer, they don’t contain fish, the main overtaken within a few years by the more aggressive predator for frog and salamander eggs, and tadpoles. invaders, he explained). They’re ideal places for many amphibians to reproduce. Davis parks the truck at the top of the hill. As we walk, The Park Service hasn’t yet formally surveyed the wildlife a couple charred branches left from the burn are the here, but Davis says a chorus of frogs in spring and only evidence of it to my untrained eye. Patches of summer likely comes from spring peepers, wood frogs, forest surround an uneven field. There’s an old cemetery leopard frogs, and American toads. Visitors who look in disrepair up here, traces of old access roads for closely in springtime can find tadpoles swimming even in the mining operation, a deer trail through waste-high tiny pools like this one. grasses, and another trail used by park volunteers to This is a humble example, but Davis wants to show me a monitor butterfly populations. more impressive one. Up ahead to the right of the access “After we cleared the invasive shrubs, stuff just came up. road, there’s another chunk of forest. We don’t walk far A lot of natives. This is mostly golden rod…It’s not a super into it before the ground slopes sharply downward six to

FORCVNP.ORG 5 eight feet, and we climb down the muddy sides into what The field by the freeway feels like a very different environment. Of the three “happy accident” sites I visited with Fallen trees coated in moss crisscross a long, curved National Park Service biologists in CVNP, the third was trench, maybe a hundred feet long and about fifteen feet in some ways the most interesting. It was certainly the across. The trench is filled with dead leaves and shallow most extreme in the way it encapsulated the complex water, about ten inches at its deepest. It feels like a interaction at these highly disturbed sites between special, intimate place, genuinely enchanting. human development activity and natural forces. Davis explains the dead leaves enrich the pool with After the vernal pool tour at Terra Vista, Chris Davis and I nutrients. This is a more typical, shady vernal pool – head in his truck to Boston Township and pull over on the though the trench it’s in is not typical, and most likely narrow shoulder of West Boston Mills Road, just south caused by mining. of Interstate 80. We scramble up a steep slope, heading “Another cool thing about vernal pools is that there’s not west, and soon we’re standing on the Buckeye Trail. a lot of invasives…Like, out of all that hiking we just did, Through a thin wall of evergreens, the white winter sky all those non-natives – as soon as we get down in here… is visible above golden grass. We walk to the edge of the it’s like a little native ecosystem.” Davis points out elms forest and look out over the Boston Mills Borrow Pit. Or and cottonwoods and willows. more flatly, The Borrow Pit. “So: very weird, but also pretty cool.” You wouldn’t think so from the name, but it’s beautiful. From a distance, it’s a serene sea of orangey-golden grass, almost thirteen uniform acres tucked cozily into a modest valley. The grass rustles softly in the cold breeze; PHOTO: RICK MCMEECHAN it’s like listening to someone sweep the kitchen from the next room. That’s if you live next to the Interstate. The whiny drone of turnpike traffic is impossible to ignore. It feels intrusive, and at first I let it irritate me. But in truth the highway bounding the Borrow Pit to the north – where, to my right in the distance, I watch semis scream by – is the catalyst that created this little patch of prairie, so named for the material taken from it to aid in road construction. We hike down into it. The field swallows us up. But once we’re inside, it’s easy and airy and peaceful to walk; the grasses part and sway to let us through. The tallest rise to between five and seven feet, and the stalks are far enough apart so that I never lose my bearings or perspective. I can crane my neck and look out into the orangey-golden distance – or catch a blue semi cab speeding by. Looking down around me, I take in a cross-section like a grassy layer cake: a dense lower layer of wide blades the color of corn silk; sparser middle layers in a more assertive gold. Rising to about my knees are dark, grey- brown pinstripes: thin, rigid stalks capped by delicate dried heads. A rust-colored fringe is the icing on the cake; Bobolinks and other native bird species were discovered to be nesting at the site of the old Richfield Coliseum. that’s what gives the whole field its warm, sunset tinge.

6 CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2017 The Borrow Pit contains a sea of native tallgrass prairie species.

The colors strike me for a reason Davis soon points out. “There are no non-native grasses in this patch,” he marvels. Just an acre like this would be an oddity, he “You’re not going to see places just brown like this says. The Borrow Pit’s thirteen are “totally unusual.” around here. They all should be – if you were here 300 years ago, all the grasslands would look like this. But Somehow, in building an iconic sign of modernity – the there’s hardly any today.” interstate highway system – what should have been collateral damage to adjacent land instead became a Davis explains that it’s common enough to find these magical prairie time machine, a window into what much native tallgrass prairie species – types of Indiangrass North American grassland looked like before European and switchgrass, sedges and asters – mixed into colonization. Northeast Ohio would have had small grasslands in Northeast Ohio. At Terra Vista, for example, patches like this, other parts of the state would have had a little patch of native broom sedge stands out as a more, and the prairie states to the west would have had smattering of dry stalks against green. thousands of acres like this. “People like green,” he says. But “if you see a green grass As we walk, Davis tells me The Borrow Pit harbors other this time of year, it’s probably a non-native.” small wonders, too: some rare native wildflowers like The Borrow Pit in January has an astonishing lack of ladies’ tresses and fringed gentian, a rare juniper, and a garish green. This is what makes its subtle colors so strong population of box turtles. apparent, and remarkable. Though no one anticipated the grassland birds would My appreciation is less technical than Davis’s as I take in thrive at the Coliseum site, nor frogs at Terra Vista, the chilly beauty around us. it’s clear in retrospect what features attracted those

FORCVNP.ORG 7 PHOTO: ED TOEREK particular wildlife populations. But as Davis leads me through The Borrow Pit, pointing out its charms with enthusiasm, he hasn’t offered an explanation for the relative purity of its native plants. So I ask him. He whispers back, conspiratorially: “I have no idea!” He says the Park Service spread an identical grass seed mix on about 40 disturbed sites in the park that had had their topsoil removed. Most quickly saw invasives take hold. “This is the only one that is in this shape…This is just crazy! Yeah, I don’t know how this happened.” The Park Service is using prescribed burns here now, too, to prevent succession to forest and preserve this special grassland. Davis hopes recent interest in the park’s disturbed sites from some of the region’s Fringed gentian, a rare native wildflower, can be university researchers might eventually help solve the spotted at the Borrow Pit site. The Borrow Pit’s mysteries. That could satisfy Davis’s curiosity, but also help the Park Service make future In parts of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, as on much restoration efforts more effective. of the planet, our impact has been so overwhelming that nature can’t heal itself. Polluted soil and water pose an “If we knew what happened here to make this a success ongoing threat; abandoned land is left vulnerable to like this, I’d be replicating it on 1,000 acres right now,” invasive species. Davis says. So the National Park Service’s restoration efforts at these A region in microcosm three CVNP sites are aiming at a careful collaboration Despite this mystery, the Park Service is already tailoring with certain natural forces, while intentionally halting its restoration efforts at the Coliseum site, Terra Vista and others. Reversion to a pristine state is not the goal. The Borrow Pit, with sensitivity to each location’s specific Pruning here to cultivate there, biologists Meg Plona, vulnerabilities and potential. Chris Davis and others are looking to the wisest PHOTO: ©SUE SIMENC stewardship, within the broader context of environmental conditions and conservation priorities. I like these sites already, though. I like their messy histories and their surprises. They put the lie to simplistic ideas about “Man versus Nature,” and reveal how complicated the web of interactions between people and the natural world can be. As Davis and I hike back up the side of The Borrow Pit toward the Buckeye Trail, I ponder what about this ambiguity so attracts me. These places are disfigured; their names suggest questionable histories. It’s not as if I enjoy the Borrow Pit’s freeway din, nor am I fond of invading flora. But the unusual life that’s come to thrive in them represents a kind of healthy scarring. Permanently altered, they can nonetheless start to heal.

Monarch butterflies visit native goldenrod at Terra Vista Natural Study Area.

8 CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2017 PHOTO © JERRY JELINEK

Give the gift of an acre in Cuyahoga Valley National Park!

By sponsoring an acre, you help:

Restore native habitat in the park Maintain the trails of CVNP Protect our national park

To choose your acre, visit forCVNP.org

FORCVNP.ORG 9 Biomimicry: Learning from Nature by Christine Hockman, Director of Resources, Marketing and Communications for Great Lakes Biomimicry

Spring’s arrival in Ohio sparks a fresh, childlike wonder in many of us. Your senses heighten as plants sprout from the earth, an array of migrating birds land, and the mating chorus of frogs floats through the air. As you awaken with nature, now is the perfect time to add some biomimicry into your life. Biomimicry is the practice of learning from nature and emulating its forms, processes and systems to solve human problems and drive innovation. People have been doing this for a long time: Leonardo da Vinci observed nature deeply, as reflected in his design drawings, and the Wright brothers studied bird wings to create flight. Throughout the world and across industries, people are drawing from nature’s genius once again. A product inspired by sharkskin actually repels bacteria by design, not chemicals – perfect for use in medical settings. Japan’s bullet train was redesigned thanks to a birdwatcher and engineer who was inspired by the kingfisher’s seamless entry into water and the owl’s near silent flight. (The train is now quieter, 10% faster and uses 15% less electricity.) Velcro was inspired by burdock burrs, which easily stick to your clothes through a hook-and-loop design. The beauty of biomimicry is that by mimicking nature, we can create life-friendly products, buildings and cities. Teams can work together more intelligently when operating as a living system. Teachers can better engage students in STEM and connect them to nature. As park users, we already know that nature is special and important. But what if you started looking at nature as a research and development lab with 3.8 billion years of knowledge? Now that takes wildlife watching to a whole new level! The next time you are in the parks – slow down, observe and wonder. When you encounter a problem or feel creativity building, go outside and ask, “What would nature do?”

glbiomimicry.org

Great Lakes Biomimicry is a non-profit organization in Northeast Ohio that creates conditions for innovation using biomimicry. Our training programs help educators, business professionals and organizations grow using biomimicry. The Conservancy partners with Great Lakes Biomimicry to use Cuyahoga Valley National Park as a laboratory for learning.

10 CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2017 EDUCATION

INSPIRING LIFELONG LEARNING — at the — Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center

Every step outside can reveal something magical in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Each week, children experience magic moments at the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center (CVEEC). During their time here, they’re immersed in the natural world for a four-day overnight adventure.

FORCVNP.ORG 11 explained. “The rocks used to be buried under a whole lot of seashells, so this rock has a lot of spots. It has a lot of spots because it was buried under a lot of pressure under the water.” “And heat!” Izaiah hastened to add. “Pressure and heat!” Both explained that they’re paleontologists-in-training, though Amirah also anticipates a law career. It’s obvious Amirah and Izaiah showed up at the CVEEC primed to investigate, but their surroundings also clearly fueled their intellects and their imaginations. Their week- long immersion in Cuyahoga Valley National Park only made their passions burn brighter. Hands-On Learning One of Conservancy’s goals at the CVEEC is to inspire lifelong learning about the natural world. Its flagship program, All the Rivers Run, is a four-day overnight learning experience for fourth through eighth graders. The CVEEC’s director, Katie Wright, says the program is designed to dovetail with students’ classroom learning. Students who have studied water quality in their classrooms, for example, get to take samples directly PHOTO: MELANIE NESTUREK from the Cuyahoga River.

This past winter, fourth-graders from Harvard Avenue “They see what’s surrounding the river that could Performance Academy in Cleveland came to the CVEEC to potentially impact the nitrate level, for instance, and then connect what they learn in the classroom—about science, they test the water for themselves, and we see things technology, writing, and art—with hands-on outdoor start clicking,” Wright says. “‘All the things they’ve learned experiences. in the classroom, they now see in action.” During their trip to the CVEEC, students Izaiah and CVEEC programs are designed to use nature as a Amirah found plenty to investigate—down to the rocks teaching tool. The Center’s setting in Cuyahoga Valley on the trails where they’re hiking. It turns out the two National Park takes advantage of a regional asset and friends are amateur geologists, both with carefully connects students with its natural resources in the curated collections at home. process. The Cuyahoga River watershed is a primary theme of All the Rivers Run, so students can make On their CVEEC hike, they couldn’t contain their connections between their own actions and the impact excitement. They could hardly finish a discussion of one they may have on local water sources. rock before another caught their eyes. Wright believes this kind of experiential learning is They pointed out each stone, picked them up, talked to crucial. “There’s always a learning gap for things you each other, talked over each other, talked to kids and haven’t experienced,” she says. “The more experiences we adults around them, and asked at least a hundred creative can give youth, the better they can understand the world questions. they live in. They become better learners, they become They also did their own bit of teaching. “So, a long time better questioners, and they become more curious about ago, water used to be bigger than the trees,” Amirah the world.”

12 CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2017 scholarships and tuition assistance so students and teachers throughout northeast Ohio can attend this program. Many students who come to All the Rivers Run have never been in a national park. Some children may have never gone on a hike. One of the moments that always stands out during the program is the night hike. Without streetlights, flashlights, or cell phones, the students venture into the woods to experience the park by moonlight alone. At first, it’s hard to see anything. But as their eyes adjust, they start to notice new sights, sounds, and smells—the silent outline of a deer, the scent of evergreen needles, an owl hooting, the wind in the trees. Stephanie Reed, a teacher at Harvard Avenue Performance Academy, describes the experience: “We Two of the CVEEC’s current field instructors are living took a couple minutes to be completely quiet and look examples of the Center’s goal to inspire lifelong learning. up at the stars. And that was one of those moments my Sami Crane and Dan Pinto both attended All the Rivers students don’t get, living in the city. They don’t get to see Run as young students themselves and have now the stars very often. It was touching.” returned to teach a new generation. Even when the children return to the warmth and “Before I came here, I wouldn’t necessarily have wanted brightness of the lodge, the night hike has a lasting to go outdoors in my free time,” says Sami. “Or if I did, it impact. Seeing the trees, ponds, and creatures of the was something I took for granted. Being at the CVEEC national park by night is an experience that most will really made me want to go outside more!” never forget. Now, in their role as teachers, Sami and Dan have a The night hike is just one of the ways the CVEEC makes unique perspective as former students themselves. “I a difference in the lives of Ohio youth. Whether it’s know the impact of being outdoors and experiencing nurturing a passion for geology, laying the foundation nature is immediate for the kids,” says Dan,” but I also for a lifetime of outdoor adventures, or seeing the magic hope it influences their decisions in the long-term.” of an enormous night sky for the first time, outdoor Both instructors attribute at least part of their decision education in Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a powerful to become environmental educators to their time at tool for self-discovery and lifelong inspiration. the CVEEC. That’s one lasting impact of the center’s programs: to inspire not only future educators, but future leaders who can thoughtfully recognize the value of being Each year, over 9,000 children attend programs at outdoors, no matter their day job. the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center. Outdoor Education for All The Conservancy raises funds year-round to provide scholarships for lower-income students to attend and An essential part of the Conservancy’s work is that all students who want to attend our programs and experience their national park. We’re tremendously experience the national park can do so. grateful to the generous donors and members who Each year, the CVEEC serves around 50 schools support outdoor learning in the Cuyahoga Valley. and nearly 2,500 students at All the Rivers Run. The Learn more and donate at forCVNP.org/CVEEC. Conservancy provides over $200,000 annually in

FORCVNP.ORG 13 CAPITAL PROJECTS

CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK A Story of Transformation New visitor center to highlight transformation of a river, transformation of a valley, transformation of a community

ore than 180 years ago, the State of Ohio canal boat made its maiden trip down the brand-new Ohio & Erie Canal. The boat traveled 38 miles from Akron to Cleveland through 41 locks, opening Ohio—the nation’s first Mfrontier—to new markets, new opportunities, and an improved quality of life. Today, the 33,000-acre haven surrounding the historic canal, now Cuyahoga Valley National Park, is an oasis along the resurgent Cuyahoga River. The valley’s history, scenery, and outdoor recreation have become a magnet for a growing influx of visitors from our local communities, around the nation, and around the world. They come to see Ohio’s national park. They tour the historic Ohio & Erie Canal, experience the iconic Towpath Trail, and ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. They enjoy the park’s natural beauty and its superb recreational and cultural assets, so close to neighboring Cleveland and Akron. Soon, they’ll be able to visit a new visitor center right in the heart of the Cuyahoga Valley: the Boston Mills Visitor Center, coming in spring of 2019. This “front door” to the park will help orient new visitors to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and connect locals to its wide array of landscapes and programs. The $5.9 million project is being led by the Conservancy in close partnership with the National Park Service.

e look forward to the culmination of years of hard work with a grand Wopening of the new visitor center in spring 2019. This will correspond with the 50-year anniversary of the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire—a fitting time and place to celebrate the river’s cultural and environmental legacy. 2017 Discover14 CONSERVANCY up-to-date MAGAZINE information SPRING/SUMMER at 2017forCVNP.org/VisitorCenter A GROWING VISITOR POPULATION He knew there should be a visitor center in the Cuyahoga Valley, because he finds them at other national parks. Kerry Muhl is a seasonal national park ranger who Although the existing Boston Store Visitor Center introduces the park. In 2007, she left the park to move provides some information, it can be difficult to find to South Carolina with her husband, a teacher. When and doesn’t have all the information a visitor might they returned in 2010, she resumed her job. She was need. He and his wife ended up crossing the street to immediately struck by a large increase in visitors from the Conservancy’s Trail Mix store in Peninsula. There, a other states and counties. sales clerk took them to a table, spread out a map of the Many out-of-the-region visitors find out about the park park, and circled sites they could see in one afternoon— through the internet, newspaper, or magazine articles, waterfalls, a boardwalk over a beaver marsh, and hikes she has found. Some come just because it’s a national along the Towpath Trail. park, including visitors seeking a “passport” stamp During the same week, Trail Mix staff helped visitors signifying they have visited Cuyahoga Valley National from Kentucky, California, and Texas. Park. Cuyahoga Valley National Park had 2.4 million visits “We call them collectors—they want to collect the stamps in 2016 and was once again in the top 15 most-visited and see all the national parks,” says Muhl. national parks in the country. A 2015 study of park A visitor from New Hampshire who was traveling to visitors showed that 20% of visitors come from out-of- Dayton for a conference was puzzled by what to do when state (up from only 9% in 2005). Plus, more northeast he arrived in Peninsula. He had stopped by the park Ohioans are discovering the national park in their own because he’s a collector. So far, he’s visited about half of backyard every day. America’s 59 national parks.

PHOTO: NPS/TED TOTH

PLANNING AND DESIGN WORK CONSTRUCTION GRAND ON PROJECT BEGINS OPENING SITE, BUILDINGS, 2018 2019 EXHIBITS FORCVNP.ORG 15 Stop by Brandywine Falls or the Beaver Marsh on needs of all its visitors, from near and far. Now, that dream a summer day, and you’ll see cars with out-of-state is finally becoming a reality! license plates—from Michigan, New York, Tennessee, A full-service visitor center will make the park more Indiana, Maryland, California, Missouri, New Jersey, and accessible and welcoming. It will be a place to teach Pennsylvania, and more. visitors about Cuyahoga Valley history, as well as provide In 2000, by an act of Congress, Cuyahoga Valley National opportunities for unique experiences in (and beyond) our Recreation Area was renamed Cuyahoga Valley National national park. Park. This was pivotal for the visitor upsurge. Becoming a “I think a visitor center is vitally important because this national park put Cuyahoga Valley on the “bucket list” for park is such a complex place,” says Jennie Vasarhelyi, tourists on a mission. the park’s Chief of Interpretation, Education and Visitor But not all people visit the park on purpose. Take German Services. “I like knowing we will have a place to direct couple Peter and Brigitte Blatt, who found the park by people to where they can get a proper park overview, and chance while driving through Akron on their way to where we can help them explore and find their interests.” Niagara Falls. They followed a brown tourism highway To meet the needs of diverse park visitors, the park sign and located a spot in the park where they could enjoy asked the Conservancy to fundraise for and purchase a a picnic lunch, parking their camper, with its distinctive property right in the middle of the national park, in the Deutschland license plates, in a shady spot. Visitors like Village of Boston. Now called Zielenski Court, the property these are delighted to discover a national park they had includes a double-chimney clapboard two-story building not known of, but need to be signed to a central location (once Zielenski’s store, when Boston Mills was a mill and where they can get the information they need to inform manufacturing area), which will be converted into the their visit. main visitor center, and two smaller historic buildings that THE PERFECT SPOT FOR A VISITOR CENTER will be used for restrooms and offices. A key missing piece of the puzzle in Cuyahoga Valley When the property became available, Ranger Vasarhelyi National Park is a full-service visitor center to meet the says, “We knew immediately it was the perfect facility.”

16 CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2017 In close partnership with the National Park Service, the a complete rehabilitation in keeping with the historic feel Conservancy is managing fundraising, planning, design, of the Village of Boston. and construction for the project. When it’s complete, the An outdoor pavilion and courtyard kiosks will also Conservancy will “hand over the keys” to the National provide visitors with park and tourism information Park Service, which will be responsible for the ongoing outside the visitor center’s regular hours. Inside the operation and maintenance of the property. visitor center, park rangers and volunteers will help VISITOR CENTER SITE PLAN orient visitors to the park, and exhibits will tell the rich stories of the Cuyahoga Valley. Planning for the new visitor center has been underway for several years. The $5.9 million project leapt forward To serve the new visitor center and help alleviate last December when the Conservancy’s Board of congestion within the Village of Boston, CVNP will build Directors voted to authorize purchase of the Zielenski a new 100-car parking area and large-vehicle lot along Court property. Riverview Road, and relocate the existing CVSR Boston Mill Railroad Station to a location adjacent to the new The project will uphold CVNP’s tradition of adaptively visitor center. reusing historic buildings, while preserving the rural character of the Cuyahoga Valley. The main visitor center Finally, after over 40 years as a unit of the National Park building (and the two smaller buildings nearby) will see System, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is primed and ready for a full-service visitor center. The culmination of a vibrant partnership between the Conservancy and National Park Service, the new Boston Mills Visitor Center will truly help make CVNP a top-tier national park.

PROJECT PARTNERS The project’s lead contractors are all based in Ohio, making for a uniquely local team: • Architecture: Peninsula Architects (Peninsula, Ohio) • Engineering: Environmental Design Group (Akron, Ohio) • Exhibits: Hilferty & Associates (Athens, Ohio) • Construction Manager: Regency Construction Services (Lakewood, Ohio)

COMMUNITY SUPPORT $1,000,000 $100,000 - $249,999 Cynthia Knight Cargill Deicing Technology To make this project a reality, the Conservancy is Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation raising $5.9 million from individuals, foundations, $500,000 - $999,999 Jean Thomas Lambert Foundation GAR Foundation and corporations. As of press time, we are within Lehner Family Foundation The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Medical Mutual Community Investment Fund $800,000 of our goal. With a final fundraising The Kent H. Smith Charitable Trust of Akron Community Foundation push now underway, and a little help from our Conservancy friends and supporters, we hope to $250,000 - $499,999 $50,000 - $99,999 bring our campaign to a close by July 1, 2017. The Cleveland Foundation Anonymous The George Gund Foundation Doug and Karen Cooper Burton D. Morgan Foundation FirstEnergy Foundation See full donor listing at The Reinberger Foundation Howland Memorial Fund forCVNP.org/VisitorCenter Remen Family Foundation Sue and George Klein Sigrid and Curt Reynolds FORCVNP.ORG 17 @thewaydownwanderers @lastingexcursions @schronphotography @therailsplittersbluegrass

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18 CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2017 PROFILE IN GIVING

A LEGACY FOR CVNP

olunteer Henry Gulich has already left a legacy in Cuyahoga Valley National Park: with his time. V He’s passionate about introducing people to the park and helping them experience it. “This is your park,” he says emphatically. “This is my park.” Henry has dedicated countless volunteer hours supporting CVNP concerts, races, fundraisers, special events, and more. Now, Henry will leave an additional legacy behind, in the form of a planned gift to the Conservancy. Henry’s wife Komal was also a dedicated volunteer. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, they made the decision to commit their savings to places they cared passionately about. Before she passed away in 2014, Komal specifically asked Henry to remember CVNP with a planned gift. Both Henry and Komal wanted to make sure that their legacy—both as volunteers For more information about and as donors—would help make the world a better place. “You really can impact the making a planned gift to the things and places you care about,” says Henry. “I like to be part of making Cuyahoga Conservancy, call John Debo, Valley National Park a great place.” Chief Development Officer, at In the future, Henry is excited to see the new Boston Mills Visitor Center and 330-657-2909 ext. 122, or visit the expansion of the East Rim mountain biking trail. He’s also passionate about forCVNP.org/bequests education and getting young people into the park. Through his volunteer work and personal giving, Henry will have an impact in the park for generations to come. In the meantime, he’ll keep biking, hiking, and volunteering in the valley he loves so much.

FORCVNP.ORG 19 FEATURED PHOTO

Biking on the Towpath Trail at sunset: A perfect way to end a day in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLE NIGH To see your own photo featured, send submissions to [email protected].

20 CONSERVANCY MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2017 YOUR NATIONAL PARK

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