National Trail & Castillo Win Statewide Awards

National Trail was selected as the winner of the 5th Annual Governors Award for Parks and Recreation, presented by the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association (OPRA) Tuesday evening. The $8.5 million capital improvement project, NTPRD Chiller, was the project selected as having the most significant impact on the quality of life the preceding year.

After 14 years of hard work by many of the current and former National Trail staff, city and county leaders and residents of Clark County, the NTPRD Chiller opened its doors in October 2013. This state-of-the-art facility features a 41,000 sq. ft. single sheet ice arena and 1,000 sq. ft. mezzanine. Open skates, lessons, hockey leagues, party/group rentals and much more are offered. The NTPRD Chiller has seen over 100,000 visitors in one year of operation.

All seventeen winners of OPRA program and project awards were considered for this statewide award.
Officials from six statewide organizations formed the voting panel for the 2014 award. They included: County Commissioners Association of Ohio, Ohio Association of Realtors, Ohio Homebuilders Association, Ohio Municipal League, Ohio State Parks and Ohio Township Association.


The Ohio Parks and Recreation Association also selected National Trail’s Executive Director, Leann Castillo, was also selected as the 2014 OPRA Professional of the Year. Castillo, a past OPRA President and long-time board member had a distinguished career at the Centerville-Washington Park District before join the National Trail team 2011.

 L to R - Woody Woodward (Executive Director, OPRA) Leann Castillo (National Trail) and Sarah Arold (President, OPRA)

 L to R - State Representative Denise Driehaus, Don Rodgers (Construction Manager), Tom Loftis (Fundraiser), Brad Boyer (National Trail), Jim Bodenmiller (Spfld. City Manager), Maureen Sheehan Massaro (National Trail Board Chair), Penny Dunbar (National Trail), Miste Adams (National Trail), Amy Van Huffel (National Trail), Leann Castillo (National Trail), Woody Woodward (Executive Director, OPRA) and Sarah Arold (President, OPRA)

BUCK CREEK NATURE PARK

Over the next couple of weeks we will be providing an in-depth look at our plans for the development of the newly announced Buck Creek Nature Park located behind the Carlton Davidson Stadium in Springfield, Ohio. The ideas came together for this nature park from a collaborative effort by the staff at NTPRD. The purpose of its creation is to maximize underutilized park spaces and provide a different park experience that currently isn't available in Clark County or the surrounding areas.This park also sits within walking distance to Springfield High School, Lagonda Elementary and the National Trail Administration Building. Click the following link to be directed to a story about the upcoming project in the Springfield News Sun.

Buck Creek Nature Park Overview

A Nature Education Trail (Green Line Surrounding the Stadium) will link the Baseball Annex and the NTPRD Admin Building to the entrances of the Buck Creek Nature Park. The wood line will allow kids to play and learn in a wooded atmosphere that includes small streams and is home to many animals including deer, raccoons, opossums, skunks and foxes. Interpretive signage will line the trail and provide education information for both adults and youth about the wildlife in Clark County. These signs are being made by NTPRD staff using wood sheets and printed labels to help keep cost low. A protective coating is being applied to provide protection from the elements.

The majority of the current trail that has been cut and cleaned was done by the volunteers for Keep Clark County Beautiful for the Great American Clean Up Campaign. In addition to creating the new trail through this wooded area, volunteers picked up a whopping 38 bags of litter and additional dumped items for a total of over 1,000 lbs. of trash.  Plus over 20 tires!. This trail would not have been possible without the efforts of these local volunteers. A portion of the trail will be ready for park visitors in early summer of 2014.

Eight Ways Parks Improve Your Health

Parks make better communities, check out this video for a few reasons why.

National Trail Has Gone Batty

Tick Tock it's nearly Halloween and the kids in our Nature Explorer's Club recently went batty learning about Bats and creating a felt bat. The Nature Explorer's Club is a National Trail Program for kids ages 8-12 who have fun while exploring nature. These kids participate in animal studies, nature games, gardening projects, arts and crafts and more. Make sure you join our upcoming Nature Explorer's Club on November 16 From 10:30 am - 12:00pm. You can sign up by calling (937)328-7275 the cost is $10 per child.

For those of you that missed last month's club meeting check out the below craft to see a how to guide on creating your very own felt bat.

Flying Bat Craft

Follow the directions to make your very own Flying Bat. This is a perfect craft for kids ages 3-12. 

Materials:

Stick

Black String or Yarn

Black Pipe Cleaner
Wiggly Eyes (or you can use Black and White Paint)

Magnet Sheet

Small Paper Clips
Large Sheet of Black Felt Fabric
Glue Stick
White/Silver Fabric Marker
Scissors 

Hole Punch 

Step One: 

Download and print the bat template at http://www.allyou.com/i/2009/08/bat-image-3.jpg (Thanks - All You) Cut out template and trace/outline the bat with felt marker onto the black felt.

 

 

 Step Two: 

 Cut out bat shape and punch four holes in the bat (use picture below for reference).

Step Three: 
Thread the black pipe cleaner through the punched holes. The center of the pipe cleaner should be behind the center of the head.

Step Four:
Bend the bottom of the pipe cleaner to create a foot.

Step Five:
Cut a piece of magnet for the nose and glue the magnet and eyes into place.

Step Six:
Cut the yarn/string into a long piece appropriate for the height of the children making the craft.Tie one end around the stick and the other end to the pipe cleaner (behind the head of the bat).

Step Seven:
Lay small paper clips out and as the bat swoops over them it should pick them up as if to eat them.

Leaf Fox - Play Pals

Play Pals is program for children ages 3-5 along with a parent or caregiver and is offered once a month by National Trail. This month the kids participated in a fun fall activity and made foxes out of fallen leaves.

Play Pals is a great time for parents or caregivers and their children to interact on fun activities such as games, arts and crafts and more. This is a nice transitional program for children who may not be ready to be left alone at a preschool program but still enjoy, along with their caregiver, participating in fun activities and socializing with the other children. It gives the child practice on listening and following directions for later preschool readiness. Make sure you make your calendars for November 14 and call (937)328-PARK to register to register for next months session.

Leaf Fox Craft

Follow the directions to make your very own Leaf Fox. This is a perfect craft for kids 3-6.

Materials:

Assortment of Leaves  (Maple and Sycamore work well for the face)
Wiggly Eyes (or you can use Black and White Paint)
Large Sheet of Construction Paper
Glue Stick
Black Magic Marker
Scissors

Step one:
Remove the leaf Stem from the top of the head.

Step two:
Add glue to the back of the main leaf and stick it to the construction paper.

Step three:
Add glue to the smaller leaf (ears) and place behind large leaf.

Step four:
Add Wiggly Eyes to leaf (or paint on eyes)

Step 5:
Cut down large leaf for nose and glue it to the bottom of the leaf.

 Step 6:
Use magic marker to draw whiskers.

Springfield Kiwanis Continues To Give Back

This past Saturday Springfield Kiwanis participated in their annual clean up of  the Simon Kenton Trail. Kiwanis cleans a 4.3 mile stretch from Plum Road to the Villa Road Staging area and they do this quarterly.  Springfield Kiwanis sure lives up to the mission set by Kiwanis International, "volunteers dedicated to changing the world, on child and one community at a time." Springfield Kiwanis is definitely making an impact here in Springfield and Clark County.

Many other local community groups and residents participate in trail clean ups throughout the year. Their time and efforts truly make a difference and impact within our trail system. Please call 328-7275 for more information if your organization would like to participate in a trail clean up.

  

Bee My Play Pal

Play Pals is a new program offered this year at the National Trail Parks and Recreation District. It’s a program for children ages 3-5 along with a parent or caregiver. This month the program happened to fall right on Valentines Day. How fun is that! We had eight children attend along with their parents and caregivers.

 Play Pals is a great time for parents or caregivers and their children to interact on fun activities such as games, arts and crafts and more. This is a nice transitional program for children who may not be ready to be left alone at a preschool program but still enjoy, along with their caregiver, participating in fun activities and socializing with the other children. It gives the child practice on listening and following directions for later preschool readiness.

The theme this month was Bee My Valentine. What could be a better valentine than a bee? Bees are essential to ecological health and we depend on bee pollinators for much of what we eat and drink. I just had to throw that in for all of you fellow bee fans.

 The program began with a valentine warm up game. The children took turns tossing a heart bean bag onto a poster board with various activities they could do, such as jumping jacks, dancing, stretching and more. If their bean bag landed on the heart, they would say their name and everyone would cheer. The children really enjoyed that.

This month’s craft was, of course, making a bumble bee out of cardstock and felt. The directions are at the end of this post. The craft went well with the adult and child working together. The snack was sort of like a craft too. We took apple slices and cut out the middle with a heart cookie cutter. The children added peanut butter with a little bit of granola and chocolate chips. The kids really liked them and I thought they were pretty good too.

At the end of the program each month, the parents are invited to visit an adjourning room to enjoy a cup of coffee or snack while socializing with the other adults.  At this time, we read stories to the children and this month also sang valentine songs. Not all the parents wish to leave their child and that is okay too. It’s just a good opportunity to see how their child will react to being separated while having a bit of time to themselves.

When the time arrives that the children are ready for a drop off program, we also offer the Trail Tots program for ages 3-5. This monthly program highlights nature themes with age appropriate activities and games. Children must be potty trained to attend.

It has been rewarding these last two months to get to acquainted with the adorable children and their pals. We have had mothers, grandmothers, nanny and this month a father also attended with his little girl. I look forward to the next Play Pals program on Thursday, March 14 from 10:00 am to 11:00 am at the NTPRD Administration Building.
 

- Penny Dunbar, CYSA, Recreation Specialist

Valentine Bee Craft

Follow the directions to make a Valentine Bee! You can use this bee to decorate or add to your valentine cards. This is a very easy craft and fun to make. Bee My Valentine!

Materials:

Yellow Cardstock

Black Cardstock or stiff black felt

Movable black eyes or wiggly eyes

Pattern or template for oval and circle

Glue or glue dots

Step 1:  Trace an oval (approximately 2.25” x 3”) onto the yellow cardstock and cut out for the bee body.

Step 2: Make a template for the head and wings.Cut out the head and wings from black cardstock or we used stiff felt.

Step 3: Cut out two antennas and 3 curved pieces from the yellow cardstock. Cut 2 hearts out of the black felt or we used small foam red hearts.

Step 4:  Glue the black head onto the body and wings underneath body. Glue the antennas under the head and hearts on top of antennas. Attach the eyes to head and curved black felt pieces to body. Let the glue dry and enjoy.