At Summit Metro Parks (SMP), we know the long-term success of our mission is dependent on our connection to the younger generation. One of the ways we inspire today’s youth is by inviting students to make meaningful contributions to our work.
In the spring of 2025, Dr. Randy Mitchell invited us to develop a final project for his Restoration Ecology students at The University of Akron. One group elected to put together a series of native garden design templates for our Wild Back Yards initiative. They collaborated with multiple SMP departments, and their project is now published on our website as a resource for anyone who wants to support biodiversity but doesn’t know where to start.
Throughout this project, the students had to consider impacts to biodiversity and how to effectively mitigate these impacts in a human-centered landscape. They synthesized different viewpoints and constraints into a tangible and digestible way for the public to engage in conservation.
We encourage you to grow a Wild Back Yard and explore the students’ garden templates for yards with part sun and wet soil, part sun and average soil, full sun and wet soil and full sun and average soil.
