Darke County Parks programs are designed to engage, inform and ...

BY JOY ROSEBERRY

ASST. MANAGING EDITOR

DARKE COUNTY--The first Darke County Parks levy was passed in 1994 and part of the promise of that passage was the construction of a facility to be used as a nature education center, community center for non-profits and government meeting space.

In 1997, the Nature Center at Shawnee Prairie was opened, a director, office manager and staff of Naturalist Educators were hired and programs began.

?Those first programs were a general walk through of the parks,? said Roger Van Frank, Darke County Parks current director. ?They involved identifying or inventories of species.?

Today, camps, programs, classes and workshops run the gamut from backcountry survival to making maple syrup to hummingbird banding. And more.

Today, basic skills are lost to much of society and Darke County Parks has developed many workshops and classes to fill that gap with Outdoor Skills Development programs.

The classes are ?ever evolving,? according to Senior Naturalist Robb Clifford. ?We try to offer programs and workshops that get back to arts of the past that are slowly disappearing.?

For instance, last month guests learned to make soap, could take a workshop on Fly Tying, spend an afternoon kayaking or canoeing, and top off the summer with a campout.

In the next couple of months, visitors can take part in a ?Hands on Herbal? workshop, or learn the very basic skill of fire starting ? without matches and upcoming are knitting classes and a fall gardening seminar. It?s not unusual to see a Dulcimer Class or Open Hearth Cooking on the calendar as well.

Visitors can ?come and sit a spell? at concerts, movies and? tours of the Log House. And if you don?t want to sit, take part in Bike to Health rides and Early Morning Discovery Hikes.

KIDS? PROGRAMS AND CAMPS

?The kids are the stewards of tomorrow,? states Van Frank. ?We want nature and our parks to be part of their life.? Striving to make kids programming a vital? of part of Darke County Parks, the following sessions are offered:

* Parent and Preschooler Adventures, a series of monthly, hour-long programs designed to give parents (or grandparents, or babysitters) an opportunity to investigate nature through hands-on activities, hikes, stories, songs and take-home projects. ?Little Explorers? classes, are designed for? 2-3 year olds and ?Seedling? classes are designed for 4-5 year olds. Worms, butterflies, crawfish, nuts, trees and plants are just a small example of wonder the little ones can explore.

* Park P.A.L.S. is designed for 6-9 years olds, with the mission to develop future earth stewards through meaningful educational opportunities and hands on experiences. A few of the areas explored by these kids include mammals, night critters, stream quality management, and wildflowers.

* Junior Naturalists is a series of programs designed to give 10-12 year olds an introduction to natural resource management. Hikes, work projects and independent study are all part of the program. A few?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????of the topics covered include tree identification, winter survival, and bird breeding.

According to Senior Naturalist Robb Clifford, the Junior Naturalist classes were added later than the others because those who had enjoyed Parent and Preschooler Adventures and Park P.A.L.S. wanted to continue. Even now, the kids always ask for something in the next age range, but says Clifford, ?we ask them to take part in the adult programs. It?s time for them to move on.?

However, older kids, ages 13-15 can take advantage of summer camp, with Extreme Adventures, which this summer, included zip-lining, overnight camping and kayaking.

Camps which included an overnight stay were also held for kids ages 8-12 (Backyard Survival) and ages 10-12 (Paddling, Hiking and Camping).

The younger kids, 6-7, and 8-9, took advantage of Summer Day Camps.

?The dedication of the staff is extraordinary. They have to love what they are doing to pass it along to the kids. That they have the trust of families to drop their kids off for camp and for overnighters, proves we are doing something right,? said Van Frank.

Darke County Parks has worked tirelessly in preparing Nature?s Classroom, environmental education programs designed to enhance and supplement Ohio?s science curriculum. Each program topic addresses current ODOE Science Grade Level indicators and the Science Benchmarks by Academic Content Standards.

The program involves class field trips to Shawnee Prairie and a classroom visit by a Parks? Naturalist.

During the 2011-2012 school year, 5-7,000 school age kids visited the preserve (this number includes the children?s programs).

However, due to cutbacks, some schools have not been able to take a field trip to the prairie. Hopefully, park personnel will be able to get to more schools, offering a kind of ?Classroom in a Box.? Added Van Frank, ?we need to get to the schools. It will be more of an expense for us, but I feel that?s part of our mission.?

Programs can also be adapted for scouts and other groups as well.

Right now the Nature Center is home to Old Thyme Gardeners, Darke County Photo Club, Darke County Birders Club, and Darke County Canoe and Kayak Club. As well as hosting meetings, these groups also offer workshops and programs throughout the year.

The Greenville Art Guild holds an exhibit every fall.

Families have come to expect Darke County Parks to have the programs they want. Said Van Frank, ?we try to engage every person who comes in here. You don?t have to come for a program, you can just come and visit. We want everyone who visits to build us into their routine.?

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* Joining Van Frank and Clifford are Naturalist/Coordinator Laura Schwieterman, Naturalist Erica Dickey, Office Manager Deb Shiverdecker, Manager of Parks Maintenance Operations Nathan Epperly, Parks Maintenance Chris Supinger, and a tremendous amount of dedicated volunteers who make it all possible.

*The Nature Center located at Shawnee Prairie Preserve (4267 OH-502, Greenville) is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Restrooms and water fountains are accessible during business hours, as well as educational displays, live animal displays, nature reference library, bird observation area, and nature gift shop.

*Nonprofit organizations may reserve the Nature Center's assembly room, classroom, or meeting room for morning, afternoon, and evening meetings. Room rentals are also available for private parties.

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Volunteers are needed for Darke County Parks? annual Prairie Days Festival on Sept. 29 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and? Sept. 30 (noon- 5 p.m.) at Shawnee Prairie Preserve.?

Assistance is needed with pioneer activities and crafts (candle dipping, tussie mussies, tin-smithed lanterns, pioneer hats, sewing bean bags and rope making, etc.), setting up exhibits, stirring apple butter, cooking over the hearth in the Log House and lots more!?

If interested, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at lschwieterman@darkecountyparks.org or call Laura at the Nature Center, 548-0165. ? A Prairie Days Workshop will be held Sept. 22 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) for those interested in volunteering. Please RSVP if you are planning on attending a workshop).? For more information, visit? www.darkecountyparks.org.

Butterfly Day: Kids will paint a flower pot, and along with the adults,??view??butterfly exhibits and displays and??take part in other hands-on activities during Butterfly Day, Sept. 1, 1-4 p.m., at the Nature Center. Take time to visit the Butterfly Tent, housing several common species found in Darke County and tour the gardens to learn which plants will attract more butterflies to your backyard. Butterfly Day is FREE!

Source: http://www.bluebagmedia.com/2012/08/darke-county-parks-programs-are.html

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