2011 Annual Campaign - "Raise Your Voice For Nature"
The Annual Campaign raises funds for:
Nature education and exhibits (such as Nature Scopes, field trip transportation and special educational exhibits)
Land preservation and stewardship (such as trail improvement, amenities and park enhancements)
Unrestricted funds (allocated to the Foundation and park projects as determined by the Foundation)
Special Exhibits at The West Woods
Geauga Park District Foundation is committed to securing private funds for special bi-annual exhibits at The West Woods Nature Center in order to offer a premier educational experience for Geauga school children, families, and park visitors. GPDF raised $27,000 in 2011 for Snowbelted: Winter's a Blast!, $25,864 in 2008 for Wild Nights: Nature at Night and Underground, $29,815 in 2004 for Engage the IceAge and $45,120 in 2006 for Bio-Centennial, an exhibit highlighting a 200-year history of wildlife. Along with its complementary educational presentations and programs, Wild Nights was experienced by more than 21,000 people, and Snowbelted is well on its way.
Geauga Park District Foundation is pleased to support top-notch nature education programs including Geauga Park District’s Nature Scopesprogram, the first binocular-nature education program of its kind in the country.
Nature Scopes was established in 2003 in response to research showing that close encounters with nature create a direct, personal involvement with the outdoors that cannot be matched by classroom discussion or photos in textbooks - a statistic that has proven to be true in Geauga County, as well.
This year-long program supplements school science instruction by providing hands-on lessons matched to the Ohio Content Standards for fifth-grade science education. Fifth-graders participate in a total of six interactive sessions involving outdoor exploration, concluding in May with a field day where students are awarded their own binoculars and
field guides for participating in the program.
A gift of $28 will provide a pair of Bushnell binoculars and two field guides for one fifth-grade Nature Scopes participant when he/she completes the program.
"Thank you for giving us binoculars because I use them all
the time to look at the stars and the stars look alot better
with binoculars," writes one fifth-grader. "I learned the look, lock and lift method. I love the binoculars alot. Sincerely, Savion."
For more visuals, here's a quick slideshow.
Field Trip Bus Support
Geauga Park District Foundation wants to help you bring your students out of the classroom and into the natural world.
Transportation funding is available to in-county schools for field trips to Geauga Park District facilities on a first-come, first-served basis.
It will be our pleasure to work with your local PTO group and provide needed transportation funding once a calendar year so Geauga County students can participate in Park District programs and exhibits.
Requests for funding must be submitted at least one month in advance of the scheduled field trip. After making your field trip arrangements, print out and complete this application and fax it, email it or mail it to Geauga Park District Foundation.
The health of our citizens and the quality of life in Geauga County are directly linked to clean air, clean water and open green space. Geauga Park District is actively managing 9,446 acres, or 3.6 percent of all Geauga County lands, with an emphasis on unique natural features which will be available for all to enjoy for years to come. As such, managed lands like Welton's Gorge (pictured right) are those under the Park District's stewardship, including acreage owned and acreage managed for other entities.
Esteemed regional natural resource experts have proclaimed Geauga County to be a hot spot for biodiversity in Northeast Ohio. Geauga Park District properties are home to 13 threatened and 13 endangered species of plants, birds, fish, reptiles and insects. From the endangeredSandhill Crane (pictured left, with colt) and the small yellow lady's slipper to the threatenedBald Eagle and native Ohio brook trout, these species may continue their recovery if we continue to play our cards right.
Geauga Park District Foundation is pleased to be a partner in one of the most exciting land stewardship projects currently in progress by the Park District – the restoration and reforestation of Orchard Hills Park in Chester Township (pictured right). Geauga Park District has begun to methodically restore natural habitat to disturbed areas at Orchard Hills Park in the first reclamation of a public golf course in the United States. The addition of amenities such as trails, restrooms, an indoor/outdoor lodge and a sledding hill will allow residents and school groups the opportunity to exercise while appreciating and studying the wildlife within this beautiful property.
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Special Exhibits at The West Woods 
This year-long program supplements school science instruction by providing hands-on lessons matched to the Ohio Content Standards for fifth-grade science education. Fifth-graders participate in a total of six interactive sessions involving outdoor exploration, concluding in May with a field day where students are awarded their own binoculars and
Field Trip Bus Support
The health of our citizens and the quality of life in Geauga County are directly linked to clean air, clean water and open green space. Geauga Park District is actively managing 9,446 acres, or 3.6 percent of all Geauga County lands, with an emphasis on unique natural features which will be available for all to enjoy for years to come. As such, managed lands like Welton's Gorge (pictured right) are those under the Park District's stewardship, including acreage owned and acreage managed for other entities.
Esteemed regional natural resource experts have proclaimed Geauga County to be a hot spot for biodiversity in Northeast Ohio. Geauga Park District properties are home to 13 threatened and 13 endangered species of plants, birds, fish, reptiles and insects. From the endangered Sandhill Crane (pictured left, with colt) and the small yellow lady's slipper to the threatened Bald Eagle and native Ohio brook trout, these species may continue their recovery if we continue to play our cards right.
Geauga Park District Foundation is pleased to be a partner in one of the most exciting land stewardship projects currently in progress by the Park District – the restoration and reforestation of Orchard Hills Park in Chester Township (pictured right). Geauga Park District has begun to methodically restore natural habitat to disturbed areas at Orchard Hills Park in the first reclamation of a public golf course in the United States. The addition of amenities such as trails, restrooms, an indoor/outdoor lodge and a sledding hill will allow residents and school groups the opportunity to exercise while appreciating and studying the wildlife within this beautiful property. 
