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The only significant green space on Perkins Avenue, just east of downtown Cleveland, is immediately across the street from the Cuyahoga SWCD office. Three years ago, our landlord, Mike Stefan, enthusiastically approved of our idea to reimagine the space. The staff planted seven trees and a variety of native plants. In just three years, the space has been... read more

Have you ever driven by a street tree with its roots overgrowing the sidewalk, or a sycamore with half of its branches removed to make room for utility lines and thought: There has got to be a better way! Well, the staff at many local conservation agencies have often thought the same. When planted properly in a well thought... read more

Can you tell the difference between this native sumac tree and...

As I was walking the dog along our local Rails to Trails all-purpose trail last week, I noticed the sumac were starting to fruit out. (Note: For the purposes of this article, I am not distinguishing between Smooth Sumac, Staghorn Sumac or hybrids of the two.) With its bright red, cone-shaped fruit clusters it is hard to miss... read more

National Pollinator Week is a time to celebrate pollinators and spread the word about what you can do to protect them. Thirteen years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. Pollinator Week has now grown into... read more

Photo of pollen bloom in Durham, North Carolina.  Photo courtesy of Jeremy Gilchrist

Recently I came across a Cheddar Explains video that explained How Humans Caused Our Own Allergies. The video mainly cites the work of Thomas Leo Ogren, who when working in landscaping in the 70's discovered that his workers tended to show more symptoms of allergies under male trees. This led to a life’s long work in pollen allergy... read more

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