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4/26/2012 - South Side Leader
     

By Kathleen Folkerth

Photos: Ken Crisafi

AKRON — The end of April is bringing the sounds and sights of spring to neighborhoods and parks throughout the area. The season’s beauty was especially vibrant at the F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm, the Metro Parks, Serving Summit County site located at 1828 Smith Road in West Akron. Ornamental trees, such as those shown in bloom at right top, are among the park’s spring standouts.

Visitor Sarah Cheramie, pictured at right middle, enjoyed the chance to feed one of the park’s chickadees during a stop there April 18.

The Nature Realm features hiking trails such as the one shown at bottom right. Also at the 104-acre site are two ponds and a visitors center with displays on local habitats. The turtle pictured at left is in the wetland area created when the Nature Realm site was upgraded with new green features in 2010. The area collects rainwater and shows the path it takes to Sand Run, according to Metro Parks officials. Dragonflies and frogs also make the wetland area home.

The grounds of the Nature Realm are open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and the Visitors Center is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. For more information on the Nature Realm, call 330-865-8065.

Metro Parks also maintains several properties in southern Summit County. Springfield Bog Metro Park, the newest park, is located at 1400 Portage Line Road in Springfield. The former farmland area is being transformed into a prairie that is expected to become a birding hotspot, according to parks district officials. Firestone Metro Park, which features areas for hiking, fishing and picnicking, is accessible from East Warner Road, Axline Avenue and Harrington Road. Also, Metro Parks officials said a site at Turkeyfoot Road in the Portage Lakes area called the Confluence is a work in progress for the park district. For more information, go to www.summitmetroparks.org.

     

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