Friends of Metro Parks

Outside Is In | Advocacy Issues
Ohio Legislators | Federal Legislators
Save the Gorge!

Friends of Metro Parks is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports the park district in many ways, including contacting legislators and educating visitors about important issues. Membership dues allow Friends to support the mission and programs of the park district.

YOU can help preserve and promote the parks you enjoy by becoming a Friend. Membership is tax deductible and good for one year. DOWNLOAD A MEMBERSHIP FORM

For more information: 330-865-1027, info@friendsofmetroparks.org.

Outside Is In
Computers. Video games. A lack of funding for school field trips. Parents who are unwilling to let their kids explore the outdoors unsupervised. This is just a partial list of the reasons children are not making a personal connection with nature.

"Outside is In" is a partnership between Akron Public Schools, CYO Camp Christopher and Metro Parks, Serving Summit County. Its purpose is to connect sixth-grade students with nature through meaningful activities in the outdoors during a 24-hour period.

One day after school, students arrive at Camp Christopher in Bath, where they check into cabins, enjoy a hot meal and sing camp songs. At night they hike, go on a hay ride and sit by the campfire with skits and s'mores. The next morning they eat breakfast and head to Firestone Metro Park, where they create nature art, go fishing at Little Turtle Pond, go on a nature hike and play nature games that encourage team building. Metro Parks naturalists and volunteers lead the activities and camp counselors assist with supervision.

The program is funded, in part, by Friends of Metro Parks.

Advocacy Issues
It is in the best interest of Friends to stay informed about the issues that affect our Metro Parks, including:

Conservation Wins & Losses: The Ohio Environmental Council outlines wins and losses in the state's 2010-2011 budget, in an article from the group's quarterly publication. MORE

Corsair Model Aircraft Club: Remote-controlled toys are not permitted in the Metro Parks, and Friends of Metro Parks supports the Board of Park Commissioners, which decided February 25, 2009 that the plane club could use the airspace at the County Home property only through year's end. Plans for the land include hiking trails and a picnic area. Read Christine Freitag's March 2009 letter to the editor of the Akron Beacon Journal

Deer Management: Metro Parks is charged with managing natural resources, and a balance must be maintained between a healthy deer population and a healthy ecosystem. Friends of Metro Parks fully supports the park district's deer-density reduction plan, which has received approval from the Ohio Division of Wildlife, and similar methods have proven successful in other parks throughout Ohio and the United States. All harvested animals are processed and given to the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank. MORE

Land & Water Conservation Fund
The House of Representatives' Natural Resources Committee is preparing energy legislation and strongly considering full and dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at the authorized annual level of $900 million. The funding amounts to $450 million for state and local matching grants to acquire and develop recreation parks, forests and recreation facilities and $450 million to expand and protect national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges as well as other federally managed public lands. The bill will be introduced upon the legislators' return in September 2009 after the August Recess.  ... Tell your representatives that their support is needed to ensure that an LWCF full-funding provision is a top priority in the Energy Bill, and that you will be counting on them to help get this provision enacted into law.

Save the Gorge: A Fairlawn company that wanted to build a hydro plant in Gorge Metro Park scrapped its plans June 12, 2009. The project would have led to the construction of roads, the destruction of old growth forests, the loss of sensitive habitat for numerous rare and endangered species, poor water quality and the destruction of park views and aesthetics. MORE

Ohio Legislators

Federal Legislators

Coping with the Cold
In winter, spring peepers hide under leaf litter and nearly freeze solid. Bullfrogs hide in mud at the bottom of ponds and lakes, breathing through their skin until spring arrives.

Combat
Bats use a form of sonar similar to what is used by the military.