MANSFIELD, Ohio — In celebration of the Richland County Park District’s 50th anniversary, Gorman Nature Center on Saturday offered visitors various activities to enjoy, with more on tap for Sunday.
Included on the schedule were different hikes, such as the reptile and amphibian hike; presentations; a prairie walk, and a “nighttime wonders” program.
Sunday, there will be a reptile and amphibian hike from 10-11:30 a.m., a prairie walk from 12-1:30 p.m. and a butterflies and “other cool insects” walk from 2-3:30 p.m.
“We just wanted to pack together a lot of the things that we do, especially this time of year like with the prairie walk because the prairie right now is in full bloom. It’s grasses are high and it’s just a good opportunity to go out and talk about that habitat, said Jason Larson, park district director.
“Seeing that it’s the anniversary weekend, we wanted to highlight as much as we could and try to help everyone get more bang for their buck, even though it’s free.”
Saturday’s activities included a spider presentation and hike led by Sarah Rose. After hearing interesting facts about different species of spiders inside the visitor center, participants ventured outside, walking along the trails to see if they could spot some spiders.
A tarantula housed in a terrarium inside the visitor center caught three-year-old Manixx Blankenship’s attention.
“That’s a big spider,” he exclaimed with wide eyes. “It’s all hairy.”
When asked if he likes spiders, he sheepishly nodded in agreement.
In addition to participating in the different activities, attendees could purchase any of the many native Ohio plants sold by Gale Martin, owner of Natives in Harmony.
Natives in Harmony, she explained, is a native plant nursery located near Marengo, Ohio.
“I started the nursery because as the director of the Marion County Historical Society, part of my job is to monitor prairie remnants, and I kept noticing that things were disappearing and no one was doing anything to preserve the plants that were on the remnants in the Sandusky plains.”
She said she felt compelled to collect seeds when she was monitoring the remnants and plant them. “And this is the result,” she said, while pointing to her plants.
She has about 200 different species of plants, she said.
Richland County Park District
Gorman Nature Center, which features 150 acres of forests, fields, prairies, ponds, streams, trails, a visitor center and picnic area, is just one of the facilities operated by the Richland County Park District. The district also operates the Richland B&O Trail–an 18.4 mile public rail-trail built on the abandoned B&O railroad line, which connects Mansfield, Lexington, Bellville and Butler.
Since becoming director in 2013, Larson said one of his goals has been to raise awareness about the park district’s numerous offerings.
Another goal, he said, is to expand the district. “We’re slowly adding land whenever we get the chance, but we have to do that in a sensible fashion so that we know that we’re able to maintain it and make it available to people,” he explained.
Target areas for expansion include northern and extreme southern parts of the county, he said.
He also has hopes to grow the Friends of the Gorman Nature Center, a nonprofit 501(c)3 that helps support the park district’s operations through financial contributions.
The primary source of funding for the park district is from taxpayer dollars. Richland County commissioners budgeted $180,000 in the general fund to the park district in 2014, according to the county.
“The park district, as far as I know, is one of the few, if not the only [park district], in the state that’s actually funded out of the general fund,” Larson said.
Most park districts are funded through grants or levies, he said.
According to a historical overview written by former director Steve McKee, the district was founded under Ohio Revised Code 1545, which authorizes Ohio counties to operate their own parks, which are overseen by three trustees who are appointed by the county’s probate judge.
It was started in 1965 by an act of Probate Judge Charles Freehafer.
Bob Schraedly served as the district’s first director.
“The district acquired its first park property in 1975 when, as the story is told, Mr. Schraedly convinced Jim Gorman and his sister, Jean Bate, to donate 20 acres of land on Lexington Ave. Over the next four years they donated an additional 64 acres to bring the total to 84 acres. Three more parcels have been added to bring the total close to 150 acres,” McKee wrote.
“A committee was formed to decide how to best use the new park land. They decided that Richland County was well supplied with various recreational parks, and that a ‘nature center’ would best serve the county’s park needs–thus, the creation of the Gorman Nature Center. The nature center’s primary purpose has been to provide learning opportunities about our natural world to the citizens of Richland County,” he added.
Steve McKee was hired as the district’s second director in 1978. His work at Gorman Nature Center, along with help from assistant director, Merrill Tawse, included installing a trail system; developing various prairie, wetland, and forest habitats; starting a nature education program; overseeing the construction of the center’s first visitor center and picnic facilities; and starting Friends of the Gorman Nature Center, McKee said.
The park district currently operates with a minimal staff and the help of several volunteers who assist with many aspects of park operation including maintenance of the B&O Trail and nature center grounds, education, programming and greeting of the general public.
Larson noted that free public programming is offered throughout the year, such as astronomy programs, nature hikes, bird walks, plant hikes, educational workshops and more. The programs are listed in the quarterly “Friends of the Gorman Nature Center Newsletter.”
“One of the important things we do as well is education for the local schools,” he said. “We probably reach, I would say conservatively, 20-30,000 students a year, and those students are able to come here to Gorman Nature Center or we go to their schools.”
To find out more about the Richland County Park District and stay up-to-date with their latest events, visit their website.
