Chit Chat Fall 2013 - Geauga Park District

A publication of Geauga Park District
Youth volunteer Scott Brown
completed his Eagle Scout project at Orchard Hills Park.
Youth volunteerism is one of the biggest growth areas for Geauga
Park District’s vounteer corps. Many local schools expect their graduates to
spend time in the community, giving back. These students not only get the
chance to connect to the county as a whole, but often discover that what
started as a ‘requirement’ can actually be enjoyable!
Youth Volunteer Zack Geizer shared, “I originally decided to volunteer
with Geauga Park District because I needed service hours for my school. But
after a few sessions volunteering at the observatory, I found that I enjoyed
volunteering at the park. I’m going to continue because it’s something I enjoy
doing. I learn from the naturalists and I help visitors learn things as well, so
it’s fun and informative whenever I volunteer.”
Your Park District has also hosted many Eagle Scouts as they work
on their projects. Scott Brown recently completed his Eagle Scout project at
Orchard Hills, then decided to become a volunteer. He shared, “Volunteering
is important to me because service is one of the main ideals of scouting and
because I like to help the organizations that I love. I have been enlightened
continued on page 4
FA L L
2013
PARK COMMISSIONERS
Nicholas E. Fischbach
Jim Patterson
Michael J. Petruziello
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Thomas G. Curtin
VOLUNTEER
COORDINATOR
Holly Sauder
Volunteer Trainings
special projects & programs
Winter Solstice Training
Wednesday, December 11, 6:30 PM
The West Woods, Nature Center
Volunteers will review the various
positions, costumes and event
details of this popular winter
program. Scripts will be provided
for volunteers in the important
station roles so they have time
to review before the program.
Dress for an outdoor walk.
Volunteers interested in acting
at one of the stations please
contact Holly Sauder at hsauder@
geaugaparkdistrict.org.
ding one
Geocaching Day
Volunteers are needed for
the Fall Geocache Day
on October 26 to hide
cache containers with a
deck of cards in these
southwest parks: Frohring
Meadows, Beartown
Lakes, The Rookery and The West
270 0890 or jbarnhart@
jb h @
Woods. Contact Judy, 440-270-0890
geaugaparkdistrict.org, for park assignment or
more information.
Nancy Speck, lea
ups
of the Solstice gro
Cookie bakers are also needed...
if you can share 4-6 dozen cookies,
we’d be very grateful! Cookies can be dropped off at
the Meyer Center until noon on 12/20, or at The West
Woods until the time of the event.
Scout Programs
Junior Girl Scouts Geocacher Badge
Saturday, October 26, 9-10:30 AM
The West Woods, Nature Center
Two volunteers knowledgable in use of handheld
GPS units are needed to assist girls with usage.
Webelos Geologist Achievement
Saturday, November 16, 9:30-11:30 AM
The West Woods, Nature Center
Two volunteers needed to discuss rock types and uses
of rocks & minerals. Includes a hike to Ansel’s Cave.
For information about these scout programs,
contact Judy Barnhart, jbarnhart@
geaugaparkdistrict.org or 440-270-0890.
Astronomy Opportunities!
The shorter days of fall brings darker skies at
an earlier hour...a great time to view the night
sky. Volunteers are needed at Observatory Park
each Friday and Saturday evening and Sunday
afternoons. Can you help someone discover the
night sky?
Full Moon Programs: 10/18, 11/17, 12/17
Themed Friday Night Programs:
10/4, 10/25, 11/8, 11/22, 12/13, 12/27
Night Sky Viewing: on remaining Fridays
Night Sky Viewing: each Saturday evening
Planetarium Shows: each Sunday at 2PM
Sign up online or by contacting Holly,
440-279-0802 or [email protected].
Halloween Wagon Rides
The annual Halloween Wagon Rides will be held October 13 & 20
at Swine Creek Reservation. It’s a great way to celebrate the fall
season in all its splendor! We are in need of volunteers to assist at
themed stations, as wagon ride guides and as ticket hosts. This is
always a fun-filled program! To volunteer, please contact Holly at
[email protected]; Linda Gilbert at
[email protected];
WHO will you meet on the
or visit the volunteer website.
Halloween Wagon Rides?
2 chit chat • www.geaugaparkdistrict.org
olunteer opportunities
October
10/2 Walktober Hike 6:30 PM
Swine Creek Reservation
10/3 EZ Go Cart Tour 10 AM
Eldon Russell Park
10/4 Extreme Storms 7 PM
Observatory Park
10/5 Geauga’s Cemeteries 1 PM
South Newbury Cemetery
10/5 Campfire & Night Hike 7:30 PM
Swine Creek Reservation
10/6 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
10/9 Walktober Hike 6:30 PM
Headwaters Park
10/11 Timbertots 10 AM & 1 PM
The Rookery
10/12 Fall Color Kayak 1 PM
Headwaters Park
10/13 Halloween Wagon Rides 1 PM
Swine Creek Reservation
10/13 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
10/16 EZ Go Cart Tour 1 PM
The Rookery
10/16 Walktober Hike 6:30 PM
Beartown Lakes Reservation
10/18 Nature Explorers 10 AM
The Rookery
10/18 Full Moon Program 6:30 PM
Observatory Park
10/19 Timbertots 10 AM
Headwaters Park
10/19 Fall Color Canoe Float 1 PM
Bass Lake Preserve
10/19 Nature 101: Autumn 3 PM
The West Woods
M
10/19 Horseback Moonlight Ride 6 PM
Headwaters Park
10/20 Reservoir Horse Ride 10 AM
Headwaters Park
10/20 Halloween Wagon Rides 1 PM
Swine Creek Reservation
10/20 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
10/23 Walktober Hike 6:30 PM
Orchard Hills Park
10/25 Extreme Storms 7 PM
Observatory Park
10/26 Junior Girl Scout Badge Day 9 AM
The West Woods
10/26 Fall Geocache Day 9 AM
The West Woods
10/26 Hound Hike 10 AM
Sunnybrook Preserve
10/27 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
Reminder: Program start times are listed below.
Volunteers should plan to arrive 15 to 30 minutes earlier.
November
December
11/3 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
11/3 Backcountry Heron Hike 3:30 PM
The Rookery
11/8 Comets 7 PM
The Rookery
11/9 Backcountry Ravine Hike 1 PM
Big Creek Park
11/10 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
11/10 Timbertots 3 PM
Big Creek Park
11/12 Timbertots 10 AM & 1 PM
Sunnybrook Preserve
11/14 Food & Farms 6:30 PM
The West Woods
11/15 Nature in Music 7:30 PM
Observatory Park
11/16 Cub Scout Geologist Program 9:30 AM
The West Woods
11/17 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
11/17 Full Moon Program 5 PM
Observatory Park
11/22 Comets 7 PM
Observatory Park
11/23 Youth Hunt 8 AM
The Rookery
11/24 Youth Hunt 8 AM
The Rookery
11/24 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
October Programs, Continued
10/27 Meet the Artists 2 PM
The West Woods
10/28 EZ Go Cart Tour 10 AM
Orchard Hills Park
10/30 Walktober Hike 6:30 PM
Frohring Meadows
12/1 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
12/7 Greens Workshop 9 AM & 1 PM
Swine Creek Reservation
12/8 Timbertots 2 PM
Swine Creek Reservation
12/9 Timbertots 10 AM & 1 PM
Swine Creek Reservation
12/12 Art Takes a Bough 6 PM
The West Woods
12/13 Homeschool Day 2 PM
The West Woods
12/13 Winter Sky Stories 7 PM
Observatory Park
12/14 Ferns, Fronds, Fiddleheads 2 PM
The West Woods
12/15 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
12/17 Full Moon Program 5:30 PM
Observatory Park
12/21 Winter Solstice Hike 7:30 PM
The West Woods
12/22 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
12/27 Nature Explorers 10 AM
The West Woods
12/27 Winter Sky Stories 7 PM
Observatory Park
12/28 Creature Adventure 1 PM
The West Woods
12/29 Planetarium Show 2 PM
Observatory Park
12/31 Grandparents Program 11 AM
The West Woods
Exhib opens November 1
 e We Wds!
www.geaugaparkdistrict.org • chit chat 3
Citizen Science & Natural Resources Updates
Stream Team
The Natural Resource Management Department is seeking volunteers to help
with a stream sampling project. Stream Team volunteers will help sample
macro-invertebrates and water quality at designated sites within Geauga
Park District. These sites will be in the Chagrin, Cuyahoga and Grand River
watersheds. Such sampling will help record water quality changes over time.
The ‘team’ will meet in winter, and projects will begin soon after.
For more information, contact Joel Firem, 440-279-0822 or
kdi t i t
[email protected], or Linda Gilbert, 440-279-0886 or [email protected].
Youth Volunteers, continued from cover
on everything from botany to
astronomy to my community.
I volunteer with Geauga Park
District because it is local and the
parks are fantastic.”
Maddie Fisher is a third
generation volunteer, and often
works with her mother and
grandparents. She has helped
with Saps-a-Risin’, Caveman
Crawl, Winter Solstice, Halloween
Wagon Rides, family fun day, art
shows,
hound
hikes, night
hikes and
campfires,
just to
name
a few!
Maddie
said, “It
helps me
to learn different things. It’s
important to do because my
family does it, too. It’s fun!”
Geauga Park District also gives
high school students
a chance to work in
the field as part of our
mentorship program.
Each spring, Geauga
high school seniors
spend two weeks
working alongside the
Naturalist and Natural
Resource Management
departments. This helps
students gain
practical, handson experience
before heading
off to college. As
one of the 2013
mentorship
students said,
“This has made
me more sure I wanted to study
biology and environmental sciences
at college. I could definitely see
myself
doing this
(job) after
college!”
Often, youth
volunteers
come in
groups to
perform
community
service
projects. Members of Kenston’s
National Honor Society recently
pulled garlic gustard; the Riders
Express 4-H club tended to the
prairie garden
at Frohring
Meadows; and
Cub Scout Pack
92 helped clean
along The Maple
Highlands
Trail and built
Screech Owl
nesting boxes.
These service
groups
take an
active role in
maintaining
their parks
for future
generations to
come!
And of course,
youth volunteers have an
energy and excitement about
their surroundings that is a
good testament to the future
of our Park District. Youth of all
ages are welcome to volunteer,
but those who are age 13 and
younger must volunteer with an
adult, while those 14 and older
can work alone. If you would
like more information about the
youth volunteer opportunities
available, please contact me.
See you in the parks!
Holly
www.geaugaparkdistrict.org • chit chat 4
thank you!
Allen, Bill
Allen, Kathy
Allenson, Stephen
Andreas, Marie
Armbruster, Debbie
Aveni, Paula
Bambic, Christopher
Banzer, Charlotte
Banzer, Joseph
Bellitto, Rita
Benedict, Henry
Bennett, Bruce
Bennett, Susan
Berger, Sue
Berger, William
Berman, Ted
Blake, Lorena
Bloch, Barbara
Boehnlein, Sister Julie
Bowman, Debbie
Brady, Madison
Brady, Tory
Bratnick, Anna
Brown, Scott
Brozovic, Nicholas
Bryant, Gary
Callahan, Joyce
Collier, Kari
Combs, Rita
Connolly, Katie
Cook, Patti
Cooper, Ian
Cupp, Elizabeth
Cverna, Fran
Czuchnicki, Kim
Dahlhausen, Joe
Desantis, Alan
Dively, Fred
Dively, Jean
Dombrowski, Mark
Doudican, Mike
Fath, Joan
Volunteer hours for May, June and July are 2,798!
Fath, Mike
Fedor, Jo
Ferreri, Fabian
Fischbach, Nicholas
Fish, Bonnie
Fisher, Annie
Fisher, Maddie
Fletcher, Charles
Francis, Joan
Fraser, William
Frenchie, Richard
Galdun, Dan
Galiardi, Jamie
Gazley, Cindy
Gehring, Kelly
Geizer, Zachary
Gentile, Don
Giles, Jay
Gwirtz, Frank
Hann, Connor
Hardman, Cynthia
Hartz, Kathy
Hayes, Lois
Heckler, Jerry
Henry, Adam
Henry, Jeanne
Herold, Deborah
Hickox, Jeffrey
Hickox, Julie
Hodakievic, Jan
Holm, Ruth
Hosmer, Pat
Hunt, Neil
Hunt-Deweese, Jacqueline
Hyde, Jeff
Janoch, John
Jones, Doreen
Keco, Joy
Keichel, Clifford
Kennedy, Naomi
Kievets, Clara
Kovacevic, John
Kovanes, Sandra
Koza, Cheryl
Kriynovich, Wayne
Ku, Olivia
Lanese, Gus
Leffler, Gail
Leffler, Kelly
Lewanski, Joyce
Lewis, Cristine
Lieser, Ed
Mathiott, Dottie
Mathiott, Rachael
Mcguire, Mike
Mcguire, Tina
Mckinney, Rachel
Meer, Kelli
Merryman, Alice
Miller, Marlene
Mitchell, Patricia
Morgan, Karen
Morgan, Kevin
Moster, Sandie
Nemeth, Jane Hall
Nemeth, William
Nestor, John
Newton, Michele
Nista, Joseph
Noble, Kathleen
Noland, Robert
Norton, Richard
O’Donnell, John
Owens, Carol
Patterson, James
Petruziello, Michael J.
Podojil, Genie
Podojil, Roy
Porcello, Dawn
Rabb, Sheldon
Rainsong, Lisa
Ramsey, Lisa
Rasmussen, Barbara
Rauch, Stacey
Richter, Raymond
Robbins, Thomas
Sauder, Brad
Sauder, Ryan
Schiemann, Lee
Schrader, Marilyn
Sedivy, Mary Ann
Senderak, John
Sickling, Kathryn
Sifritt, Susan
Simon, Marsha
Skinner, Carol
Skinner, David
Skinner, Iola
Smith, Brian
Spear, Linda
Speck, Nancy
Stanton, Nora
Steigerwald, Georgie
Sterlekar, Tom
Strojan, Jean
Surgeon, Ron
Sweeney, Dawn
Szego, Ron
Szuter, Keith
Tretera, Don
Tretera, Fran
Turpin, Steve
Tvergyak, Jerry
Ullman, Catherine
Wagner, Michael
Weaver, Abe
White, Alaine
Wiebusch, Sandy
Wieland, Don
Winton, Don
Wohlken, Shane
Wolfe, Timothy
Woolf, Sandy
Zack, Al
Zeitz, James
Zrinyi, Gene
Thank you to all the volunteers! Geauga Park District truly appreciates your time and hard work.
2013
Twilight Soiree
On a starlit summer night, Geauga Park District Foundation and
friends hosted a series of dinner parties to raise more than $24,000 so far for
the Annual Campaign! Special thanks to party hosts and dessert sponsors:
Paula & Anthony Aveni, Jon & Cindy Denney, Jan & John Fitts, Richard & Christine
Frenchie, Bill & Kathy Franz, Adam & Ashley Henry, Jeff & Suzanne Hyde, John &
Kelly Janoch, Kathy Leavenworth, John & Pat Leech, Ed & Fran Meyers, Christine &
Barry Lewis, Mary Beth & Jim O’Neill, Bob Page, Jacqueline & Frank Samuel,
Diane Schneider-DS Cakes LLC, Jeff & Cindi Suszynski, Jane Wallace & Dan Ruminski,
Trevor & Gail Wilson, and Gary & Kate Witosky.
www.geaugaparkdistrict.org • chit chat 5
Geauga Park District
9160 Robinson Road
Chardon, OH 44024-9148
Fall Volunteer Gathering
Please join  for a sneak
pk  the new hib,
Somethi’s Aft:
Nure Jt Can’t Sy P.
Surday, Oober 26
9-10 AM
e We Wds
Nure Ceer
For a detailed list of volunteer opportunities, visit www.geaugaparkdistrict.org or check the current issue of
Geauga Park District’s public newsletter, Voices of Nature. The volunteer logo appears by programs requiring
volunteers. Or call Holly Sauder, volunteer coordinator, at 440-286-9516 or 440-279-0802 (direct).