Nature Scopes reaches all 930 public & Catholic fifth-graders in Geauga County.
It can be awe-inspiring to see the level of curiosity and intelligence fifth-graders have when given a pair of binoculars and some time to explore the world around them.
And for the second consecutive year, Geauga Park District is excited to provide those binoculars and that time to every single public and Catholic school fifth-grader in Geauga County, plus Agape Christian Academy, through its hands-on Nature Scopes programming, which started out in 2003 with just a few schools.
Each student’s school-year-long Nature Scopes adventure culminates this month in “Binocular Blitz” finale field trips to The Rookery in Munson Township.
Nature Scopes is funded with primary support from the Foundation for Geauga Parks and other generous park sponsors and donors. Since 2003, their continued support has made it possible for Geauga Park District to provide Nature Scopes experiences to a whopping 7,094 students countywide!
A total 930 students at 16 schools are participating this school year. Naturalists and volunteers focus on developing kids’ interest in wildlife and Nature, hoping to inspire a new generation of Nature-lovers and conservationists in Geauga County.
Each student receives a pair of Bushnell Falcon binoculars and two field guides to keep, and learns to use those binoculars as field scopes, microscopes and telescopes.
Geauga Park District Naturalist, Nora Sindelar has participated in “BinoBlitz” field trips every spring for 14 years, and now heads up the programming.
“It never gets old having dozens of fifth-graders cheering with excitement when they put their binoculars up to their eyes and that little ‘something’ in the distance comes into focus: a beautiful bird, a green frog or a cool water snake,” she said. “It absolutely never gets old.”
For more on Geauga Park District offerings, please call 440-286-9516 or visit online at Geauga Park District, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube.
