Once called “The Woods” by the surrounding neighborhoods and dedicated as “West 11th Street Park” in 2008, today our urban forest is called, “The Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve,” after the woman who was pivotal to preserving this green space.
See the current Wireless Wilderness tour stops to customize your guided tour of the park.
LCNP is a nationally known birding “Hot Spot”. Ebird.org has been collecting data on the park since 1998 and over 153 species of birds have been documented in the park.
This deciduous native bush has light pink flowers in the spring, magenta berries in early fall, and grows up to five feet tall and wide in rich woods and thickets in the shade.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that waste produced by just 100 dogs in two or three days (or one weekend) can contain enough bacteria to temporarily close a bay to swimming and shell fishing. In our forest, toxic dog feces can be washed into our ephemeral ponds, contaminating an important part of our resident animals’ ecosystem and rendering it completely unusable.
Georgia O’Keefe once said, “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment.” And, to help us all have more moments, our Inaugural Native Flower Patch was planted by kids of all ages from the nearby community during a Flashlight Seed Fling on December 7, 2023.
We are fortunate to have several reptiles and amphibians that call The Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve their home. Rarely noticed by most visitors, they are nonetheless a vital part of the ecosystem. Here is some information about some of the reptiles and amphibians you are most likely to encounter in the preserve.
