May 21 & 22
Girls Night Out at the Gardens
Tuesday & Wednesday, 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Feel special as you shop ‘til you drop for the newest fashions and merchandise. Spend the first half of the evening exploring the special offerings exclusively available in the Shop In The Gardens, plus sampling and purchasing goodies from unique and specialty vendors. Members receive a 20% discount; non-members 10%. Memberships will be sold that evening for your convenience. Relax the second half of the evening in the Rossi Auditorium with fabulous food by Cater 2U, garden container planting demonstration, dance presentations by Fred Astaire Dance Studio and a live auction. Tickets sell out quickly! Call FRG to register.
Fee: $25, Reserved seating for table of ten for $300
Mark Your Calendars for more Special Events in 2013:
May 21 & 22 … GIRLS' NIGHT OUT
June 22 … LUAU AT THE LILY POND
July 20 … MOVIE UNDER THE STARS
July 26 … GARDEN PARTY
July 28 … SUNFEST
August 4 … REPTILE & RAPTOR SHOW
August 4 … FAMILY GARDEN DAY
August 11 … BRIDAL FAIR
September 14 … SUNSET AT THE FARM
September 15 … GREEN CATHEDRAL Half Marathon \ 5-K \ Fun Run
September 21 … THE FARMER & THE CHEF
October 12 … MASQUERADE AT THE MILL
October 20 … PUMPKIN WALK AT TWILIGHT
Nov. 30 & Dec. 1 … OLDE FASHIONED CHRISTMAS AT THE MILL
December 1 … SANTA'S WINTERTIME BARN
Dec. 7-Jan. 5 … WINTER CELEBRATION
December 8, 15, 22 … WINTER NIGHTS
Newport Wetlands to Gain Biofiltration Garden
Mill Creek MetroParks is rehabilitating the existing Newport Wetlands parking lot constructing a new biofiltration garden. This project will reduce impervious pavement areas, add natural habitat and improve water quality before storm water reaches Mill Creek and Lake Newport.
The parking lot rehabilitation will integrate permeable pavers designed to drain storm water through the pavement surface, which will reduce the volume of run-off. The pavers will be placed in the parking bays and will cover 6400 square feet. By reducing the total surface area of the existing parking lot and reconfiguring the design, additional impervious surfaces will also be eliminated.
The 12,000 square foot biofiltration garden will consist of regrading an existing lawn area to create a swale, pools and floodplains. Adding organic soil material, mounding, gravel areas and native plant species will enable this area to receive additional storm water to reduce the volume and velocity while filtering sediment and pollutants. This new area will significantly improve water quality, increase native species and wildlife habitat and create an appealing feature within a prominent area of Mill Creek Park.
Once construction begins, the project is expected to be completed within two months, with some project components to be carried out this spring. Smythe Island and the Davies Wetland Trail will remain accessible throughout the process.
Mill Creek MetroParks has been awarded a Clean Water Act Section 319 grant through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) for this project. The 319 grant will cover 60% of the costs for rehabilitation of the parking lot and construction of the biofiltration garden. Mill Creek MetroParks has committed funds and in-kind services to use as match for the project.
Strategic Plan/Action Plan
First there were focus group meetings in December of 2011. Those were followed by public open houses, a mail survey and interviews with community leaders during the first half of 2012. A needs assessment was conducted and demographic studies were completed. All of the information was compiled into the 2013 Strategic Plan, a comprehensive document that will guide the MetroParks through the next ten years.
The strategic plan was approved at our January board meeting, and is now available to the public. A companion document, the Strategic Action Plan Summary, boils down the information contained in the full plan to six key areas that staff will focus on over the next ten years.
E-WASTE
If you received a new computer, TV or other electronic device please remember to recycle your old unit. Through a partnership with Dell, Goodwill accepts most outdated computers and Best Buy accepts computers and miscellaneous electronic equipment.
What happens to your old electronics when they are recycled?
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