Get Growing Blog
Connecting people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants.
Most Recent
March 9, 2021
Floodplain Forest, Farmland, Public Park
The Human and Non-human Lives of Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a 9.75-acre public park in New York City but this is only one iteration of the life... more
March 9, 2021
How to Calculate the Benefits of a Tree
i-Tree is a software suite, from the U.S. Forest Service, that consists of tools that calculate the value of trees in urban areas and your home. For more information and... more
March 8, 2021
Forecasting the Future of the Forest
Climate change has already increased temperatures and produced more extreme weather events in Northeast Ohio. Over the next several decades these trends will likely become more pronounced, altering forests as... more
March 3, 2021
Monarch and Milkweed
Flowers – especially native plants – are wonderful sources of nectar for monarch butterflies but milkweed leaves are the only food that monarch caterpillars eat. This is an important relationship... more
March 3, 2021
Butterflies
Many of the flowers we love to see each summer depend on visits from butterflies and other insects – they help with pollination. Learn more about the magic of butterflies... more
March 3, 2021
Mini-Installment: Honeybees
Honeybees are the hardest working insects in the natural world and are vital to our delicate ecosystem. These busy bees communicate with each other, they dance and they are generally... more
March 3, 2021
Bumblebees
The Eastern Common Bumblebee is easy to spot in most places in Ohio. Bumblebees are insects. Their bodies are made up of three parts — the head, thorax and abdomen. more
March 3, 2021
Intro to Phenology
Phenology is the study of connections between plant and animal life cycles through the seasons. Learn more by viewing the presentation. more
March 3, 2021
Cuddle Up to a Good Documentary
Many of us have a bit of extra time on our hands these days. Sometimes that time is best spent sitting in your favorite spot on the couch, cuddling up... more
March 3, 2021
Energy Scavenger Hunt
With many of us spending more time at home than we ever have, energy use has inevitably risen. This Earth Day conduct an Energy Scavenger Hunt throughout your home. Preserving... more
March 3, 2021
DIY Textile Dyeing
Textile waste, from clothing and other fabric consumer items, makes up a large chunk of trash produced each year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 15 million tons... more
March 3, 2021
Grow Fresh Produce From Scraps
Family eating you out of house and home? Try growing fresh produce from scraps. Watch the regenerative power of plants before your very eyes! Plus, you may be able to... more
March 2, 2021
Birding at Holden
Bird Profiles of the Arboretum Explore more nature profiles HF&G Conservation Programs Holden’s Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow conservation program began in the early 1960’s when volunteers installed more than... more
February 19, 2021
Detecting Changes in the Natural World
By Katie Stuble, PhD, Research Chair
The Holden Arboretum is a stunning place to explore with its beautiful gardens and forests. I love to hike the trails with my family and watch the gardens transform over... more
February 12, 2021
A Lady’s Slipper Update on the Eve of Orchids Forever
By Connor Ryan, MS, Rhododendron Collections Manager
A lot of science and conservation is learning by doing, so I would like to provide an update on our lady’s slipper orchid conservation project. This is our first time growing orchids from seed. On December... more
February 5, 2021
Biotic Homogenization – Changes in biodiversity with urbanization in vacant lots
By Megan Herrmann, Graduate Student, Cleveland State University
By Megan Herrmann, master’s student at Cleveland State University in the Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences Department The current biodiversity crisis seen in headlines has many overarching implications for ecosystems... more
January 26, 2021
Stuble Lab Receives Invasive Plants Research Grant
Holden graduate student, Alexa Wagner, has received a grant from the Ohio Invasive Plants Council. The proposal titled, “Determining dynamics responsible for plant community responses to overstory thinning and invasive species... more
January 22, 2021
The Life Beneath the Snow
By Sarah Kyker, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate
The month of January, with its freezing temperatures and leaf-less trees, is a time when it’s easy to think of nature as dormant. While this might be true for deciduous... more
January 20, 2021
Why Leaves Change Color
This is an age old question that many teachers are asked, and it can be a starting point of a number of important lessons. The beautiful leaves of fall are... more
January 20, 2021
Water Movement in Trees
Water movement in deciduous trees increases before the leaves and flowers emerge in the early spring. This is the perfect time of year to observe and learn about the processes... more
January 20, 2021
Plant Fossils
The fossil record serves as a basis for our scientific understanding of early life on Earth. From fossils, we can infer how climate and ecosystems have changed, how prehistoric organisms... more
January 20, 2021
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use solar energy from the sun to turn carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into food (sugar). Photosynthesis can be one of the more... more
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