Environment

Cincinnati Parks is giving away free trees. The Park Board's Urban Forestry division runs the annual ReLeaf program as an effort to bring residential neighborhoods up to 40% tree canopy coverage.

In a typical year, the Cincinnati region experiences roughly 17 days with a heat index above 90 degrees. The heat index accounts for what it "feels like" outside even if the actual temperature is slightly lower.

While we'll experience relatively cooler temperatures over the next several days, this summer's intense heat and frequent downpours have made gardening a real challenge. The extreme weather has been great for weeds and insects, but it's been hard on trees and plants, many of which are now showing signs of severe stress.

Did you know the Cincinnati Zoo is open until 8 p.m. every Tuesday in July? Visitors can enjoy half-price admission on August 17 and 18, and registration is open for the Cheetah Run 5k. There's a lot going on at the zoo this summer.

A group actively cleaning up the Mill Creek describes the stream as a "diamond in the rough" and wants to encourage the communities lining it to take advantage of its economic and recreational benefits. Saturday elected officials are invited to see it by canoe.

Gardeners in our region are accustomed to our often dry, hot summers and the need to pay extra attention to watering plants. But right now farmers and gardeners here and in many other parts of the country have the opposite problem – too much water.

Record rainfall in Cincinnati is causing a local co-operative farm to re-adjust its harvest plan.

Uranium processing ended at the Fernald site 30 years ago and now the more than 1,000 acres are known as the Fernald Preserve. Its transition from uranium processing facility during the Cold War to vast nature preserve involved lawsuits, contamination, community advocacy, new government regulations, and an enormous and comprehensive clean-up.

Journalist Jenny Wohlfarth documented what she called "an ecological oasis in our city's backyard, with a very dark past."

Five years after an oil spill devastated Oak Glen Nature Preserve in Colerain Township, Great Parks of Hamilton County is now allowing limited public access. WVXU's Tana Weingartner has followed this story since the spill was discovered. She recently went back to find out what the public will learn during an off-trail hike this Saturday.

Many home gardeners have discovered that with the right crops and planting methods they can grow a lot of produce in a small amount of space. Which is extremely helpful for homeowners with small yards. And especially good news for those who live in urban areas or apartments, where container gardening is a necessity.

The next speaker in the 2019 Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's Barrows Conservation Lecture Series is the Executive Director of the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya, Dino Martins, Ph.D.

Now that we are into the growing season the first thing most of us notice is just how well the weeds are doing in our yards and gardens. While some of us tackle the job of clearing dandelions, nut grass and clover by hand, others rely on chemicals to eliminate weeds. And many of them will go about it the wrong way, applying too much, too little or too often.