Fallon Michael
Updated 10/2023
Each autumn Mother Nature paints the landscape with gorgeous colors that dazzle our eyes. The reds, yellows, oranges, purples and even greens brighten up The 330 and truly signal the transition from one season to the next. It is a show you really won’t want to miss.
This color change begins with a very important element — sunlight. Summit Metro Parks naturalist Janean Kazimir explains trees are green due to chlorophyll in their leaves where they process sunlight, oxygen and water into the sugars that the tree needs to survive.
“They end up breaking down the chlorophyll and reabsorbing those nutrients and those sugars back down into their roots,” Kazimir says. “And then in the spring, that all comes back up from the roots to grow new leaves.”
The sugars left in the leaves create vivid colors. Vibrant yellows come from carotene and the rich reds and purples from anthocyanins.
“Anywhere from the second, third, fourth week of October is when things will really be popping. And each year, depending on temperatures and rainfall and everything leading up to that can push that date back,” Kazimir says. “If it's nice and sunny and warm, the trees will hold out a little bit longer and try to photosynthesize a little bit more for a little bit more reserved to put away and if it's cold and rainy, they'll hasten that process a little quicker.”
If you are looking to trek farther from home to enjoy some fall foliage, all of Northeast Ohio is available for your enjoyment. Kazimir says there’s a variety of tree species all over the state. “Depending on where you are, you're gonna see totally different things,” says Kazimir.
One of the major players in the colorful landscape is the maple and oaks. “In Ohio, or in Summit County, we're primarily Beech maple forest in the northern half, and then we become more oak-dominated as you go further south in the county,” she says. “It might be a fun little contrast to see a park someplace up north and then go further down south and the oaks change a little bit later.”
A spectacular place to view leaves in The 330 is at Goodyear Heights Metro Park. The park is home to hybrid maple trees that were bred specifically for bright scarlet coloring. Scanlon maples are named after their creator. Ed Scanlon worked in Cleveland as the commissioner of shade trees. Several of these unique trees are in the parking lot at Goodyear Heights.
There is a lot to see in the Summit Metro Parks, with over 15,000 acres, 16 parks, numerous conservation areas and over 150 miles of trails. Each year, approximately 5.5 million visits are made to the Metro Parks.
Kazimir says that the amount of rainfall and water in the area can affect the colors of the leaves and variations of trees in the area. “Like right now, we've had decently consistent rain. Things aren’t super crispy and dried out,” Kazimir says. “So we're on a good track, good trajectory right now. But if we get big, heavy wet rainfalls during the middle of them changing, that's also not good.”
The entire area can be enjoyed by car with a drive through the many parks, or you can experience the fall splendor by foot or bike on the Cascade Valley Metro Park Overlook Trail. “It’s about a half a mile long. It's paved, which makes it very accessible,” says Kazimir.
Whether you stretch your legs in the Merriman Valley or to the south on the way to Clinton, the different hues will wow your whole family this fall.
What to Do with Leaves in Your Yard
Leaf removal can be a pesky task for homeowners in the fall. Though immaculate yards are very desirable, they are not always the best for the ecosystem. “If you are able to create a mulch pile with some of your leaves, you might be saving some butterflies and moths,” Kazimir says.
The winged beauties wrap themselves in the leaves for the winter before the leaves fall, remaining there throughout the season. Once the leaves fall, however, they are at the mercy of whoever is cleaning up the leaves.
“If you can leave them where they fall, they make a wonderful compost addition,” Kazimir says. “I put them all in and throughout my vegetable garden, and I let them sit there all winter. And the little pollinators come out in the springtime, and I've got a boost of compost in my garden.”
The surviving caterpillars are part of an even bigger picture. In the spring, they emerge and help to provide food for hungry birds.
“There's just so many critters that use leaf litter,” Kazimir says. “Whether it's salamanders and frogs, and even box turtles and different birds during this time of year, they're plucking the little insects that are under the leaves, so they'll be rooting to your leaf pile.”
