By Paula Scott

The Motter Metro Park in Bluffton, one of 15 Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District locations with pathways to explore, has a deceptively modest entrance and description. With 1.5 miles of trail, you might expect a hike with naturalist Dan Hodges to be a brief jaunt. And perhaps you've never pulled off at the entrance at 10740 Columbus Grove-Bluffton Road.

But for those who visited the park on a summer evening in July–in the company of a naturalist and other park enthusiasts–it proved to be a leisurely, flower-filled treat.

With promotional assistance from the Bluffton Public Library, Hodges gathered a group of 14 hikers and took them on a 1.5 hour tour of the park, which is being transformed into a prairie habitat with native animals and plants. The 105 acres were covered in white, lavender and gold blooms with finches, redwing blackbirds, monarch butterflies, rabbits and deer coming in and out of view.

Hodges pointed out different plants, some native and some non-native. Above the gray headed coneflower and bee balm, were tall, prickly teasel–a plant that the park district is actively discouraging. Here and there were white false indigo, a beneficial plant due to its nitrogen fixing properties. The naturalist encouraged hikers to consider incorporating native plants like these into their home gardens.

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As the group walked over the slightly hilly, grassy paths, Hodges stopped to identify plants, sometimes passing along a leaf or stem for participants to smell and examine. Did the bee balm smell familiar? It is an ingredient in Earl Grey tea. He passed along the compound leaves of a tree and asked if hikers could recognize the smell of a black walnut.

Throughout the park are interpretive signs to provide information about the prairie plants, animals and birds. The park district has plans to create a wetland area in the farthest reaches of the property, adjacent to the Little Riley Creek. There is access to the creek, although it can be hard to spy. Hodges showed hikers where a sign sits close to the trees lining the creek.

For more information on Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District facilities and programs, check out the JAMPD 2023 Summer Newsletter, which includes an article by Hodges on “Firebugs and Lightning Flies.”