Metroparks Toledo is celebrating National Poetry Month with the second annual #5poets5parks event. A collaborative initiative designed to amplify efforts in eco awareness and conservation, five award-winning Ohio poets have written poems in honor of five additional Toledo Metroparks for 2025. Each poet will read their work as part of the ceremony, with an author signing and reception to follow.

 

Hosted by Georgia Author of the Year Poetry Finalist, Atlanta poet, and Toledo native, Julie E. Bloemeke, the #5poets5parks celebration will feature the work of award-winning Ohio poets Lydia Babcock, Darren Demaree, Kari Gunter-Seymour, Adrian Lime, and Sandra Rivers-Gill, with poems highlighting Pearson Metropark, Blue Creek Metropark, Providence Metropark , Manhattan Marsh Metropark, and Swan Creek Metropark .

 

Sven Olaf Nelson, founder of Pineapple Press and Design, has created custom letterpress poem postcards, each typeset on handmade paper incorporating native wildflower seeds from Toledo Metroparks.

 

The photography of Art Weber – whose storied career spans over 50 years with Metroparks Toledo – will also be showcased as part of the reading.