Volunteer Work Days Volunteer schedule for Kitty Todd Nature Preserve is posted under Community Involvement on this site. Log onto Metroparks website for their volunteer schedule. Please come join us for a fun and educational time!

The Green Ribbon Initiative is a grass-roots effort to save the Oak Openings Region-a natural community as rare and significant as the rainforest. This globally distinct ecosystem has been designated by the Nature Conservancy, a renowned conservation organization, as "One of the 200 Last Great Places on Earth."

Sadly, this habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate as natural areas within the region are being destroyed by urban sprawl. Of the 84,000 acres in the Oak Openings region, ecologists have identifies 6,000 acres of high-quality greenspace running like a ribbon through the area. We hope to protect this habitat by creating a biological and recreational corridor of preserved land-a "green ribbon" of natural beauty, rare plant and animal species, and quality recreation opportunities stretching across Northwest Ohio and Southeastern Michigan.

Come celebrate “the blues” in the Oak Openings Region –

The Karner blue butterfly, wild blue lupine, bluebirds and bluejays,

blueberries, big blue stem, blue racer snakes, blue spotted salamanders,

and the big blue sky over the prairies.

7:00am – Bird Hike

Join Toledo Metropark naturalist Karen Menard at the Kitty Todd Preserve for a bird hike in the oak savanna. Lark sparrows, red headed woodpeckers, orioles, bluebirds and various warblers are all likely to be seen.

7:00am – 10:00 am – Bird Banding

You can watch representatives from the Black Swamp Bird Observatory band birds and see the birds up close.

9:00am – 5:00pm – Native Plant Sale

9:00 am – Kitty Todd Hike

Preserve Manager Gary Haase will lead this hike to search for blooming wildflowers including lupine and puccoon and for rare birds such as lark sparrows, summer tanagers and red-headed woodpeckers. We will also hike on some of the preserve’s newest acquired properties.

10:00am – 2:00pm – Meilke Road Savanna Wildlife Area

Gardens That Make A Difference Oak Openings Natives Demonstration Gardens Take Root [READ MORE]

The Karner Blue is back! Federally endangered Karner Blue butterfly reintroduced into the Oak Openings Region. [READ MORE]

Midwest Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference The original Midwest oak savanna and woodland ecosystem extended from East Texas northward to Manitoba, eastward to Ontario, Ohio and even Tennessee. It has been over ten years since the last Midwest Oak Savanna Conference. A committee of the Green Ribbon Initiative has been working on plans for a conference to be held at Lourdes College and the Franciscan Center in July 2009. More details will be available in the near future. [READ MORE]