Nature Center at Shaker Lakes: An Urban Green Oasis
Channel: Western Cuyahoga Audubon
Date: 2019-10-28

Julie West, Volunteer Bird Walk Leader and Honorary Board Member, and Lauren Schmidt, Camps and School Program Coordinator, talk together at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. Julie describes how she has volunteered, served on the Center’s Board, coordinates Christmas Bird Count, monthly bird walks, and bird banding for the last 30 years. Lauren joined the Center three years ago and works in the education department with visiting children from area schools. 

By experiencing the Center’s diverse resources, visitors expand their awareness of nature in meaningful life changing ways. Children visiting the Center can observe Julie spotting and banding birds across a diversity of habitats: marsh, the Doan Brook area, mature forest, scrub shrub, and demonstration prairie. Over the years, Julie has tallied over 160 different bird species on the conserved property.

Western Cuyahoga Audubon is a chapter of the National Audubon Society based in Cuyahoga County in Northern Ohio, USA. WCAS seeks to connect and educate the public and conserve natural habitats for the sustainability of all bird species.