• Annual Blue Week nature festival showcases rare plant and animal species in the Oak Openings Region
    Annual Blue Week nature festival showcases rare plant and animal species in the Oak Openings Region
  • Annual Blue Week nature festival showcases rare plant and animal species in the Oak Openings Region
    Annual Blue Week nature festival showcases rare plant and animal species in the Oak Openings Region
  • Annual Blue Week nature festival showcases rare plant and animal species in the Oak Openings Region
    Annual Blue Week nature festival showcases rare plant and animal species in the Oak Openings Region

    From May 10-16, The Nature Conservancy and Green Ribbon Initiative partners will host Oak Openings Blue Week, an annual nature festival featuring more than 20 free, family friendly events across northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan that celebrate the arrival of spring and the region’s natural heritage.

    Blue Week provides an opportunity to learn about the globally unique Oak Openings region, a special place characterized by 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.

    A variety of virtual and in-person activities will be offered throughout this year’s week-long festival, from exploring parks and preserves of the region at one of several organized hikes with a naturalist to discovering local natural gems through self-guided tours and activities such as a scavenger hunt and a photo contest.

    The Nature Conservancy is hosting a Blue Week hike at the Kitty Todd Preserve on Tuesday, May 11 at 4 p.m. titled “Innovations in Wetland Restoration.”

    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 close to home,” said Ashlee Decker, partner specialist with the conservancy. “Oak Openings Blue Week is about raising awareness about this rare habitat so that we all can feel proud to live in and help protect and steward the Oak Openings.”

    More than 99 percent of Oak Openings habitats have been lost from the landscape as a result of development and cessation of natural disturbances. The small pieces that remain are referred to as “remnants” and are among the rarest natural communities on the planet. Many of the animal species that depend on them are also very rare. In fact, The Nature Conservancy, has designated this region as “one of the last 200 great places on earth.”

    The conservancy has been working to combat the threats to rare Oak Openings habitat through land acquisition, education, and restoration efforts. Their 1,400-acre Kitty Todd Preserve is a centerpiece of the Oak Openings and is a model of land management practices for the region. With funding provided by the Maumee Area of Concern and Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Programs, they recently broke ground on the restoration of one of the largest remaining undeveloped parcels in the historic Irwin Wet Prairie. The 280-acre Sandhill Crane Wetlands project aims to protect water quality and restore wildlife habitat.

    The Blue Week tour will give the public a chance to learn more about how the conservancy is returning much needed natural infrastructure to the landscape, which provides long-term benefits of flood reduction, cleaner water, wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities.

    “Individual projects like our work at the Sandhill Crane Wetlands are important in their own right and provide so many benefits. But it’s just one piece of the puzzle,” said Ms. Decker. “Through our partnerships and work through the Green Ribbon Initiative, we are able to take a more holistic approach to conservation in the Oak Openings Region. That means greater impact now and greater resiliency for the system in the face of a changing climate.”