Terradise Nature Preserve Fund

This designated fund benefits the Prairie Parks Foundation and provides support for the care, maintenance, improvement and programs of Terradise Nature Preserve, the former home of noted Marion County historian Trella Romine.

Located a mile south of Caledonia, Ohio, Terradise includes a parking area, shelter house, and trails. A geocache is located on the property and a launch area for canoes and kayaks is located across the river on Whetstone River Road.

Trella Romine donated 12 acres for the park in 1998. In 2004, Ralph Boger donated an additional two acres that includes a former spring and ford across the Olentangy (formerly Whetstone) River.

Terradise is abloom each spring with more than 30 species of wildflowers and 15+ species of migratory birds and includes 40 species of native trees and shrubs. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources designated Terradise as an “outstanding environmental education area that possesses exceptional value in illustrating and interpreting the natural heritage of Ohio.”

Trella explained, “We built our home here in 1953 and my husband Ray coined the word ‘Terradise’ for it since it seemed to us that we had found ‘heaven on earth.’ We sought to protect this pristine area for the benefit of those who love the out-of-doors.”

Tours of Terradise are by appointment through the Marion County Park District.