“Of 28 employees every one of them said we have to do something for Jeremy,” said Ken Bish, volunteer project manager for the reserve.
“He carved a tree out of logs and natural materials; he created tree cookies or steps for kids to walk up and down; he built a swing that hangs from a big oak tree, and painted the sign that said ‘PlayScape 2014’” said Bish, who worked on Lovely’s team.
“He was the obvious choice to dedicate the Natural PlayScape to,” said Gretchen Rives, public relations and marketing manager for parks and trails. “Jeremy was known for his creativity, imagination and vision. It (the playscape) is a place to find peace and joy and it exemplifies all of Jeremy’s qualities.”
The late Fritz and Dolores Russ, founders of the former SRL Laboratories in Beavercreek, donated their 90 acres of land to Greene County in the late 1960s, to protect green space in rapidly developing regions.
The reserve, which is located at 2380 Kemp Rd. and opens at 10 a.m. today, will have classes and programs, a bird watching room, wild life display, water garden aspect, bee apiary area, and other things for the community said Rives.
More than $21,000 dollars in private money has been spent on developing the reserve, said Ed Marrinan, director of Greene Giving, the Greene County Community Foundation.
Marrinan said money the foundation is raising for the reserve is being use on planning architectural details, site preparation, preserving wildlife and planting.
The reserve recently received a $150,000 grant from the state capital budget through the Ohio House of Representatives and Dayton Region Arts and Culture Project, said Rives. “Some of the funds will be directed towards retrofitting the house on the property” said Rives. Funds will also go towards transforming the house from a residence to a nature education center.
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