Recreation DIANA BLOWERS
Children’s opportunities to enjoy nature don’t end with the first frost, especially at the Narrows Reserve Nature Center.
The Beavercreek Twp. nature center and surrounding park at 2575 Indian Ripple Road is open year round to offer not only hiking opportunities and nature displays within the center but also programs for children, families and adults.
For the youngest nature explorers there are the Nestlings and Nature Nuts programs for those ages 2½ to 4 and 4½ to 6, respectively.
The preschoolers and their adult companions meet one Wednesday a month at the nature center to learn about a nature topic, take a hike and hear a story.
The Nestlings will meet from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Nov. 17 for “Oh, Nuts” and on Dec. 8 for “Time to sleep, hibernation.”
The Nature Nuts will meet from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 17 to explore “Nuts & Seeds” and on Dec. 8 for “Deer & Reindeer.”
The programs, which require advanced registration and payment, cost $3 for Greene County residents and $5 for non-residents per child, per class.
The Toads ’n Tadpoles is a favorite of children, ages 4 through 6, who enjoy games, a night hike and a snack, and of their parents, who enjoy a child-free evening.
The monthly 7 to 9:30 p.m. program, which will be offered Nov. 12 and Dec. 10, costs $10 for Greene County residents and $15 for nonresidents per child, per class. Advance registration, with payment, is required.
There also will be a family event at the Narrows Reserve on Nov. 13. A park naturalist will lead a “Family Fossil Hunt” along the nature reserve’s ravine, which is not normally open to public fossil collecting.
One session will meet at 10 a.m. and the other will convene at 3 p.m. Prior to the hike, the families will spend some time learning more about local fossils during this program which is free, but registration is required and walk-ins will not be accepted.
Another program at the Narrows that families can get involved in, as well as individuals, is the annual Project Feeder Watch, done in conjunction with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
Naturalists and volunteers monitor the center’s bird-feeders to determine the types and number of birds that stay in the Greene County area during the winter and watch for rare or unusual birds that normally do not winter in Ohio.
The program is free and there is no registration required for the feeder watches from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays, Nov. 13 and 27, and Dec. 11 and 23 at the nature center.
Bird books will be available and binoculars are not required, but participants are invited to bring their own.
For more information on any of these programs, contact Greene County Parks at (937) 562-7440 or visit the park department’s website at www.co.greene.oh.us/parks.
Contact this columnist at dsb@donet.com.