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. Generous support has been provided in the past by the Akron Community Foundation, the Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation, the Sisler McFawn Foundation, the Welty Family Foundation, the Joseph G. and Sally A. Miller Family Foundation, the Jean Thomas Lambert Foundation, the Charles E. & Mabel M. Ritchie Memorial Foundation, the W. Paul Mills and Thora J. Mills Memorial Foundation, the Lloyd L. & Louise K. Smith Foundation, the Curtis Foundation, the Edward J. Thomas Foundation, and the Harvey and Patricia Graves Foundation.

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

Clean Ohio Fund: The Clean Ohio Fund is a program to fund the protection of natural areas, prime farmland and waterways and to clean up contaminated property. Metro Parks, Serving Summit County has used Clean Ohio Funding for land acquisition and to build the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath from 2003 to 2010. We encourage you to educate our Summit County legislators about the importance of this bond issue.

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

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:  February 21, 2011 - The president's budget gives $900 million to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), up from $479 million in FY2011. The Great America Outdoors initiative would get a $200 million share of the LWCF funds, to be used for urban parks and public-private conservation projects. MORE

Saving Ohio's Natural Preserves:Friends of Metro Parks encourages you to help save our state's Division of Natural Preserves by supporting the check-off on your state tax return. Past leaders of this division like Guy Denny and Robert Moseley are volunteering their time to save the DNAP, which no longer receives state funding. Please encourage your friends to promote the check-off, too.

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
Note: Because of the anthrax scare, fax and e-mail are preferred.

Clever or Lazy
Wood ducks will often lay their eggs in another duck's nest, tricking it into raising the wood duck's young.

F.A. Seiberling
The Nature Realm was named in honor of Frank A. Seiberling, founder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. He owned the property from 1920 until 1948.