GALION – It’s a common occurrence today. Children spending countless hours behind the screens of an electronic device. Three Galion Intermediate School staff members were tired of seeing this and decided to do something.

“When I was a child, if your homework was satisfactorily complete, you went outside,” said Intermediate School librarian Adam Lehman. “Often this was without any complaint, and I didn’t want to go inside when called.”

Lehman, along with Intermediate School teachers Neal Rinehart and Charlie Miller, discussed implementing an Outdoors Club throughout the summer of 2017 on the bank of a pond or at the archery range.

“When we came together in August, we each had ideas regarding the Club’s curriculum,” Rinehart said. “The bottom line was we wanted to make this club happen as an afterschool activity to expose our students to new activities and ideas.”

While the Outdoors Club is only a few months old, the activities planned for the more than 100 student-participants are vast. Examples of the club’s activities include: fishing, dendrology, archery, knot tying, basic survival skills, local history, geocaching, archaeology and many more.

“We are all avid outdoorsmen,” Miller said. “Mr. Rinehart and I are both experienced bow hunters and anglers, and Mr. Lehman is an Eagle Scout.”

The three educators attended Youth Fishing Training programs. They are also certified in the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP).

A program of this magnitude involves a great deal of equipment. The trio has worked diligently to find alternative sources of funding for the club’s needs.

“Mr. Rinehart and Mr. Miller have been diligent in seeking grants for our program,” Lehman said. “We recently received an NASP grant through the Ohio Division of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, and are continually seeking additional grant opportunities.”

Galion superintendent Jim Grubbs likes the program.

“I am incredibly proud of the work Mr. Lehman, Mr. Miller and Mr. Rinehart have put in to starting our Outdoors Club,” Grubbs said. “This program offers students the opportunity to get outside and learn invaluable life skills and lessons that will serve them well after they have graduated from Galion.”

For more information about the Outdoors Club, please contact Adam Lehman, Charlie Miller or Neal Rinehart at 419-468-3676.