Geauga County families now have another way to keep their children “busy as bees” while learning more about nature thanks to Geauga Park District’s new Pollinator Garden & Nature Play Area.
Geauga County families now have another way to keep their children “busy as bees” while learning more about nature thanks to Geauga Park District’s new Pollinator Garden & Nature Play Area.
The Foundation for Geauga Parks Board of Trustees recently announced the grand opening celebration of the new Frohring Meadows attraction at 16780 Savage Road in Bainbridge Township in a recent press release.
“Support for these types of projects is inspiring, and a project that highlights nature education and the conservation of pollinators and pollinator habitats is also quite exciting, as it directly aligns to the missions of both Geauga Park District and the Foundation for Geauga Parks,” said GPD Executive Director John Oros.
According to the foundation, the pollinator garden marks the completion of phase one of the project designed in collaboration with Geauga Park District and DERU Landscape Architects to incorporate plantings of native perennials and shrubs like butterfly weed, aster, purple coneflower, Joe Pye weed, goldenrod and Standing Ovation little bluestem.
Surrounding the pollinator plants are nature-based play features for children designed to assimilate the behavior of birds and insects. Kids will be inspired to climb, crawl, tunnel, balance and dig while they and their parents learn about the importance of pollinators, according to GPD.
“The pollinator garden and nature-based playground are not only areas where kids can come to play and interact with nature. They are intended to engage and educate,” said Oros. “The inclusion of interpretive signage focusing on species specific to the plants and insects associated with pollination are intended to shed light on the importance of these types of habitats. We hope this area at Frohring Meadows will encourage Geauga landowners to cultivate similar habitats in their own backyards.”
The pollinator project began in 2019 with a vision from board President Jeff Hyde after he recognized that chemicals, habitat loss and a general lack of knowledge were all threatening the insects and animals responsible for pollinating food sources and other important resources.
“It is exciting and fulfilling to see phase one of this vision come to fruition. We hope that the thousands of people, young and old, who visit Frohring Meadows each year will pause and take a moment in the pollinator garden to learn more about pollinators and their importance in our everyday lives. They might even have some fun while there,” said Hyde.
The FGP’s vision is to initially create opportunities to learn about, engage with and support pollinator health and eventually, to drive the preservation and expansion of pollinator-friendly habitats across Geauga County.
“Initial funding came from a 2020 Cleveland Foundation Lake-Geauga Fund grant along with a charge to build a team of collaborators, develop a county-wide pollinator education plan, establish a demonstration garden and raise money to support future gardens,” GPD said in its press release.
In addition to the Cleveland Foundation Lake-Geauga Fund, other generous donors included the Paul & Maxine Frohring Foundation, the Ginn Family Fund and Patterson Fruit Farm, among others.
“As Frohring Meadows is our most visited park in Geauga Park District’s system of parks, this project will undoubtedly reach and inspire a great number of guests,” Oros said.
For more information about the Foundation for Geauga Parks, people can contact the foundation office at 440-564 1048, via e-mail at: admin@foundationforgeaugaparks.org or on its website at www.foundationforgeaugaparks.org.
