Marion, Ohio County Park District

09/06/2026

A fun documentary that naturalist James made for the Prairie Festival.

🌾 **Exploring the Sandusky Plains: The Prairies of Marion County** ...

09/06/2026

🌿🦋 AN EXCITING WEEK WITH THE PARK DISTRICT! 🦋🌿

We’ve got a couple of fun opportunities coming up this week, and we’d love for you to join us! Get outside, explore nature, and learn something new with the Marion County Park District. 🌳

🦋 MONARCH HIKE
📅 Wednesday, September 9
⏰ 5:00 PM
📍 Marion Tallgrass Trail Trailhead

The monarchs are beginning their amazing fall migration, and we’re heading out onto the trail to see what we can discover! Come walk with us as we search for monarchs and learn more about these incredible butterflies, their migration, and why the Marion Tallgrass Trail can be an important stop along their journey.

🍂 NATURE CENTER OPEN + BUCKEYE NECKLACES
📅 Thursday, September 10
⏰ 5:00–7:00 PM
📍 Marion Tallgrass Trail Nature Center

Stop by the Nature Center and make your very own Buckeye necklace! 🌰 This is a fun, hands-on activity for all ages, and supplies will be available while they last!

Whether you’re interested in monarchs, Buckeyes, or simply getting outside, we hope you’ll come spend some time with us this week! 🌿

Come explore, learn, and enjoy the outdoors with us! 💚

09/06/2026

We know we’ve been talking a lot about everything that happened today at our First Annual Prairie Festival, but we wanted to highlight one of the really cool parts of the day! 🌾

Gale Martin gave a fascinating talk about some of the unique history of the Sandusky Plains. Many of you may remember Gale from her time as the director of the Marion County Historical Society. With her wealth of knowledge about local Marion County history, along with her passion for native plants, she was the perfect person to help us explore the stories behind this incredible landscape.

Thank you, Gale, for educating us and sharing so many interesting stories about the history that took place across the Sandusky Plains! We’re grateful you were part of our first Prairie Festival. 🌱

🎥 If you would like to watch Gale’s presentation, please click the link!

And while you’re there, make sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up-to-date on all the fun and educational content we put out there! 🌿📚

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

09/05/2026

🌿✨ THAT’S A WRAP ON THE FIRST ANNUAL PRAIRIE FESTIVAL! ✨🌿

Well, everyone… we officially did it! 🎉 The first-ever Prairie Festival was a tremendous success, and we couldn’t be more excited about how the day turned out!

We believe more than 100 people came out to celebrate prairies, pollinators, native plants, and the incredible natural resources we have right here in Marion County! 🌼🦋🌾 We even had people travel from Crawford County, and the farthest attendee we know of came all the way from Findlay! That means so much to us!

One of our biggest hopes for this event was to create greater awareness and appreciation for native plants, but especially for prairies and the incredible history of the Sandusky Plains. Many people may not realize that much of Marion County was once part of this vast prairie landscape. We hope today gave people an opportunity to learn more about these unique ecosystems, why they are so important, and why protecting and restoring what remains is so valuable. 🌾💚

There were SO many incredible groups, organizations, vendors, and individuals who helped make today possible, and we want to say a huge THANK YOU to every single one of you! ❤️

A special shout-out to Natives in Harmony Plant Nursery for joining us and offering beautiful native plants for people to take home and add to their own gardens. 🌱 And thank you to the food trucks that came out and kept everyone fueled throughout the day! 🌮🍔

We also want to give a HUGE thank-you to the North Central Pollinator Pathway for all of their hard work helping put this event together. It truly takes a community to make something like this happen, and we’re already considering bringing the Prairie Festival back next year! 👀🌿

And we certainly can’t forget to thank Marion City Schools Athletic Director Sean Kearns for allowing us to host this event at Marion Harding High School. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to bring everyone together!

Most importantly, THANK YOU to everyone who came out today! Whether you attended for the plants, the prairie, the pollinators, the food, the educational activities, or simply to enjoy a beautiful day outside, you helped make our first Prairie Festival one to remember! 💚

Now we want to hear from YOU! 👇

🌿 What was your favorite part of the festival?
🌱 What would you like to see us add or change for next year?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below! We’d love to hear your ideas as we look toward making the Second Annual Prairie Festival even bigger and better! 🌾✨

THANK YOU, MARION COUNTY! 💚

09/05/2026

2026 Prairie Festival

09/04/2026

🌾🚨 TOMORROW, MARION COUNTY… WE CELEBRATE THE PRAIRIE! 🚨🌾

The wait is almost over! Tomorrow, Saturday, September 5, 2026, is the 1st Annual Prairie Festival at Marion Harding High School from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM! 🎉🌻🦋 If you love nature, local history, wildlife, or just a good family-friendly afternoon, you won’t want to miss this!

Come explore the fascinating prairie heritage of Marion County and learn about the plants, pollinators, and wildlife that make these habitats so special. We’ll have crafts, interactive games, hands-on activities, and educational opportunities for the whole family. You can also check out the native plant sale hosted by Natives in Harmony and learn more about Marion County’s history as part of the historic Sandusky Plains Prairie region. And be sure to arrive early to grab an exclusive Prairie Festival button while supplies last! 🎟️🌾

🍔 And what’s a festival without some good food? We’ll also have a few local food vendors joining us! We’re still waiting to confirm exactly who will be there, but we’ll announce the food vendors tomorrow, so be sure to check back and see who’s serving up some tasty treats! 😋

☔ RAIN OR SHINE! ☀️ If Mother Nature decides to send some rain our way, don’t worry — the festival will move inside Marion Harding High School! Some activities may be modified if we move indoors, but we’ll still have plenty of fun and learning waiting for you.

🚗 IMPORTANT PARKING INFORMATION: Please park at the east end of the school. Be sure to check the attached image for detailed parking information, where to enter, and the full event schedule.

🌻 Bring the kids, bring a friend, and bring your curiosity! Come explore, learn, eat, and celebrate an important part of Marion County’s natural history. We can’t wait to see you tomorrow at the 1st Annual Prairie Festival! 🌾🦋💚

09/04/2026

🌾🌼 MARION COUNTY’S FIRST-EVER PRAIRIE FESTIVAL! 🌼🌾

📅 Saturday, September 5 | 11 AM–3 PM
📍 Marion Harding High School

Get ready to celebrate the prairies of Marion County! 🎉

Join Marion County Park District and the North Central Pollinator Pathway for Marion County’s first-ever Prairie Festival!

Did you know that much of Marion County was once covered in prairie? Our county was part of the historic Sandusky Plains Prairie, once one of the largest prairie landscapes in Ohio. 🌾

Today, only small remnants of those original prairies remain. But thanks to restoration efforts throughout our region, these remarkable habitats are making a comeback! 🌱🌼

This festival is a celebration of the prairies that once covered our county and the incredible prairie habitats being restored today.

🐝 What can you expect?
🌼 Games and activities
🎨 Crafts
🦋 Educational displays
🌱 Information about native plants
🐝 Learning about pollinators
🌾 Discovering the importance of Ohio’s prairie ecosystems

🌱 NATIVE PLANTS FOR SALE!

One of our featured participants will be Natives In Harmony Native Plant Nursery, who will have native plants available for purchase!

It’s not too late to add native plants to your yard or garden. Even a small planting can provide valuable food and habitat for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. 🐝🦋🌻

☔ RAIN OR SHINE!

Don’t let the weather stop you! If Mother Nature decides to send some rain our way, we’ll simply move the festival activities inside Marion Harding High School.

🎉 AND THERE’S MORE!

We have a limited number of custom Marion Prairie Fest buttons made especially for this event! Be sure to stop by and grab one while they last!

🌾 Come celebrate Marion County’s prairie heritage, discover what’s being done to restore these special habitats, and learn how YOU can help our native plants and pollinators!

We hope to see you there! 🐝🦋🌼

🌾 Marion Prairie Fest — Celebrating Our Past. Restoring Our Future. 🌾

09/03/2026

James Anderson spotted an Eastern Milk Snake along the Marion Tallgrass Trail! In his 11 years with the park, this is only the third time he’s encountered one here.
Milk snakes are harmless and non-venomous—if you see one basking in the sun or keeping the local rodent population in check, give it some space and let it do its thing!
Check out the video for more fun facts from Naturalist James, then head outdoors to see what nature discoveries you can make today. 🐍✨

09/02/2026

🌅 After wrapping up our Nature Stroll program at the Espyville section of the Marion Tallgrass Trail, Naturalist James Anderson took a little drive out to the Seiter Road section of the Big Island Wildlife Area.

He was rewarded with this beautiful sunset! 🌾🌅

Sometimes the best way to end a day in nature is simply to stop, look around, and enjoy the view. ❤️

09/01/2026

🐔🌿 We Have Some Feathery Visitors at the Marion Tallgrass Trail! 🌿🐔

Everyone, we have some unexpected visitors hanging out at the Marion Tallgrass Trail trailhead off Holland Road!

We’re not sure if these chickens escaped from a nearby farm or if someone unfortunately dropped them off at the park. Sadly, people do sometimes abandon animals in our parks, which is never the right thing to do.

If you recognize these chickens or know who they belong to, please let their owner know that they are safe and currently at the Tallgrass Trail trailhead. 🐔❤️

And if no one comes forward to claim them, they’ll be looking for a good, loving home! So if you or someone you know might be interested in giving these feathery friends a new home, come and take them.

In the meantime, they seem to have decided that the Tallgrass Trail is a pretty nice place to visit!