Olentangy River Wetland Research Park

Olentangy River Wetland Research Park A unique, urban facility at tOSU established in 1993 within CFAES and managed by SENR The grounds are open to the public daily from dawn to dusk.

The Schiermeier Wetlands is the home of the School of Environment and Natural Resources’ aquatics program and a gateway to research, teaching and outreach related to water resources at the university. The Schiermeier Wetlands pursue basic and applied research at multiple levels of ecological organization, from microbes to ecosystems to landscapes. The Schiermeier Wetlands also provides training for undergraduate and graduate students and service to the community through environmental outreach and extension. Through these activities, the Schiermeier Wetlands plays an essential role in developing science-based solutions to critical issues in water resource management, restoration and conservation. The 52-acre urban research site is situated adjacent to the Olentangy River and consists of two experimental wetland basins, an oxbow wetland, bottomland hardwood forest and a mesocosm compound. The Heffner Teaching and Research Building located on the site includes analytical and teaching laboratories, a wet laboratory, flexible classrooms, offices and meeting spaces. Our experimental wetlands can be viewed from the Sandefur Observation Pavillion which is open to the public. Additional viewing opportunities of the natural areas are available along the Olentangy Greenways Trail and paved paths throughout the site.

BUGS ARE AWESOME! END. OF. STORY. We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who came for our insect night sheeting ev...
09/16/2026

BUGS ARE AWESOME! END. OF. STORY. We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who came for our insect night sheeting event last Friday. What an awesome example of how wetlands habitat can create areas of increased biodiversity. Thanks again to Dr. Klinger for providing the materials and expertise to make this event truly memorable. Here’s some pics from the event for everyone to enjoy!

What’s your favorite bug?

Follow The Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park for more!

A big thank you to everyone who joined us for the SENR Open House at the Olentangy River Wetlands! It was great to see s...
09/14/2026

A big thank you to everyone who joined us for the SENR Open House at the Olentangy River Wetlands! It was great to see so many students learning about opportunities available both in and out of the field. Thank you to our professors and our SENR organizations (both student and professional led) as well for sharing ways to become more involved as a student!

If you want to get involved with events at the wetlands follow us The Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park or click this link to sign up for our next event at go.osu.edu/orwspore

Do you enjoy nocturnal insects and want to learn more about them? Are you looking for a chance to explore the Wetlands a...
09/08/2026

Do you enjoy nocturnal insects and want to learn more about them? Are you looking for a chance to explore the Wetlands at night?

Then join us THIS FRIDAY* for an insect night sheeting event! 🌙🪲
This event will take place from 8:00 PM - 12:00 AM, and you can join us for all or part of the night to search for, identify, and learn about nocturnal insects at the ORW.

Sign up now by visiting go.osu.edu/orwinsects

*Rain date: Friday, September 18th 8:00 PM - 12:00 AM

This summer, the ORW was excited to welcome Lizzy Korosec from the Columbus School for Girls as a summer volunteer inter...
08/10/2026

This summer, the ORW was excited to welcome Lizzy Korosec from the Columbus School for Girls as a summer volunteer intern!

Lizzy spent her summer working alongside our faculty, staff, and undergraduate interns and gained valuable firsthand experience with scientific data collection, site maintenance, and research.

Throughout her time here, Lizzy assisted our team with grounds and trail maintenance, helped remove invasive plant species from around the park, helped manage our restored prairie project site, participated in community outreach events, learned to identify a wide variety of wildlife, and collected field data.

We're proud to have been a part of her journey as she continues exploring potential college majors and career paths in environmental science, and we are incredibly grateful for all of her hard work this summer.

Thank you for spending the summer with us, Lizzy, and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors! 💚🌾🔬

This summer, the ORW was excited to welcome Lizzy Korosec from the Columbus School for Girls as a summer volunteer inter...
08/10/2026

This summer, the ORW was excited to welcome Lizzy Korosec from the Columbus School for Girls as a summer volunteer intern!

Lizzy spent her time working alongside our faculty, staff, and undergraduate researchers, gaining valuable firsthand experience with scientific data collection, site maintenance, and research.

Throughout the summer, Lizzy assisted our team with grounds and trail maintenance, helped remove invasive plant species from around the park, helped manage our restored prairie project site, participated in community outreach events, identified a wide variety of wildlife, and collected field data.

We're proud to have been part of her journey as she continues exploring potential college majors and career paths in environmental science and incredibly grateful for all of her hard work this summer.

Thank you for spending the summer with us, Lizzy, and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors! 💚🌾🔬

On July 26, ORW undergraduate intern Ethan Staffiera led a mushroom identification walk and spore printing demonstration...
08/04/2026

On July 26, ORW undergraduate intern Ethan Staffiera led a mushroom identification walk and spore printing demonstration!

Ethan guided participants through the park, pointing out and identifying mushrooms along the way. From scaly ink caps to pale brittlestem to false turkey tail, there were plenty of mushrooms for participants to learn about and forage across the park and in our bottomland forest!

Participants collected mushrooms and brought them into the classroom where Ethan gave a short lecture on the importance of proper mushroom identification when foraging and different identification techniques. One technique, which Ethan demonstrated and participants then got to do, is spore printing. Spore prints are created when mushrooms release reproductive cells (the spores) onto a sheet of paper, plastic, or aluminum foil, to create a visible print of the mushroom’s underside.

If you are interested in foraging, familiarize yourself with any regulations near you, take proper precautions, and ensure that you have tried different identification techniques and are 100% confident in the identification of your foraged item before consuming it.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this event with us! Did you attend and have a successful spore print? If so, drop a photo of it in the comments!

Stay tuned for more events like this soon.

On July 26, guests had the opportunity to satisfy their foraging curiosity with a mushroom walk and spore-printing demon...
08/03/2026

On July 26, guests had the opportunity to satisfy their foraging curiosity with a mushroom walk and spore-printing demonstration!

During the mushroom walk, research intern Ethan Staffiera guided participants and helped identify the mushrooms they found. From scaly ink caps to pale brittlestone, there were plenty of mushrooms for people to collect and examine.

After the walk, participants brought their finds into the classroom, where they learned how to identify mushrooms using spore prints. Spore prints are created when mushrooms release microscopic reproductive cells, called spores, onto a sheet of paper or aluminum foil, leaving a visible print that reflects the pattern of the mushroom's underside.

Be sure to stay tuned for more events like this in the future!

📸 Grace Watts

🐦🦆 Feather Friday🦆🐦Welcome back, everyone, to this week's Feather Friday, our series that spotlights some of our favorit...
07/31/2026

🐦🦆 Feather Friday🦆🐦

Welcome back, everyone, to this week's Feather Friday, our series that spotlights some of our favorite feathered friends here at the wetlands!

This week's bird is the American Robin, one of the most common birds found here in Central Ohio! The American Robin has an expansive range that covers much of North America, from the Upper South through to the borders of the Canadian Arctic. Robins feed primarily on insects, berries, and earthworms, with their diet shifting throughout the year: mostly worms and insects in the spring and fruits in the winter. American Robins are also fairly fecund birds, with a pair producing up to three broods per season.

However, what's so exceptional about this specific robin's coloration is that it differs quite substantially from what is commonly found in robins! This is due to a mutation that causes loss of pigmentation, known as leucism. Leucistic animals vary wildly in the degree of their pigmentation loss (with this individual seeming to have lost the pigmentation on the top of its head); however, some leucistic animals can see almost total loss of pigmentation.

In celebration of National Moth Week, the ORWRP hosted an Insect Night Sheeting event! 🌕At the end of last week, partici...
07/29/2026

In celebration of National Moth Week, the ORWRP hosted an Insect Night Sheeting event! 🌕

At the end of last week, participants of all ages got the opportunity to learn about and see lightning bugs, moths, beetles, and other nocturnal insects that roam our wetlands! Thank you to Dr. Ellen Klinger, Dr. Jamie Strange, and graduate student Miabella Centuori for taking the time to teach guests about our local nocturnal insects. 🦗


Did you miss this event and wish you had attended? Do you want to learn more about insects? Keep an eye out this fall...another insect sheeting opportunity may be coming your way. 🍂

Photo 2: Orange Wing Moth

Photo 4: Canadian Petrophila

Photo 5: Crane Fly

Photo 6: Damselfly

Photo 8: Dobsonfly (an indicator of good water quality!)

07/28/2026

Could you tell what everything was? 🤔

゚viralシ

Address

352 W Dodridge Street
Columbus, OH
43202

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+16142929774

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