Akron students learn about nature first-hand
For the sixth year, ‘Outside Is In’, a program funded by Friends of Metro Parks, gave inner city kids the chance to spend a full day outdoors recently.
On April 23, children from all over Akron spent the day fishing, hiking, orienteering, and studying local wetlands. Park officials developed the program of educational and recreational activities the children enjoyed during the day. The kids were taken to Camp Y-Noah in Green by school bus. They ate in a mess hall, toasted marshmallows as they sat around a campfire, took a night hike, then slept in a cabin, chaperoned by volunteers and teachers.
The next day, they had breakfast then rode the bus to Coventry Township’s Firestone Metro Parks, where they learned how to use a compass, as well as following a trail along the Tuscarawas River. They dropped birdseed as they walked, and stopped occasionally to listen to the different sounds found in nature; some even had chickadees land on their hands to eat the seeds.
The program is a collaborative effort by the Akron Public Schools and park officials, who hope to make children aware of the environment by letting them interact with it.
Friends of Metro Parks might consider working with a brochure printer to create a mailer for Akron parents, explaining the program and requesting volunteers and other forms of support.
On April 23, children from all over Akron spent the day fishing, hiking, orienteering, and studying local wetlands. Park officials developed the program of educational and recreational activities the children enjoyed during the day. The kids were taken to Camp Y-Noah in Green by school bus. They ate in a mess hall, toasted marshmallows as they sat around a campfire, took a night hike, then slept in a cabin, chaperoned by volunteers and teachers.
The next day, they had breakfast then rode the bus to Coventry Township’s Firestone Metro Parks, where they learned how to use a compass, as well as following a trail along the Tuscarawas River. They dropped birdseed as they walked, and stopped occasionally to listen to the different sounds found in nature; some even had chickadees land on their hands to eat the seeds.
The program is a collaborative effort by the Akron Public Schools and park officials, who hope to make children aware of the environment by letting them interact with it.
Friends of Metro Parks might consider working with a brochure printer to create a mailer for Akron parents, explaining the program and requesting volunteers and other forms of support.