“Stories in the Woods” is a program planned for April-May in Wintergarden/St. John’s Woods Nature Preserve, 100 acres of restored prairie, oak savannah and swampy woods on the west side of Bowling Green. The program introduces the public to the environmental history of the land and has 3 components:
- The trail, from April 11 to May 31: Ten signs in selected locations of the preserve narrate historical features of the park, from indigenous occupation, to farming, to the present Preserve.
- This website: more information, primary sources and a short reflection accessible from the signs via smartphone-friendly QR-codes. We will invite the community to further contribute to this website with comments and by posting to instagram, twitter and to the nature preserve’s facebook page using a common hashtag.
- Honoring Our Plants, a “talk-walk” about native and European ecological knowledge of the plants in St. John’s Woods. Dani Tippmann, Myaamia Tribal Plant Tradition Bearer, and park naturalists will provide interpretation as we walk the interpretive trail.
Diorama of the interpretive trail, currently in display in the Administration Building, BGSU.
The event is a partnership of the City of Bowling Green and the Bowling Green State University’s Department of History, with the support of Ohio Humanities.