We all know that spending time outdoors is beneficial to our mental and physical health. This has never been so evident as in 2020. The many parks of Geauga County have been providing unmeasurable benefits to our community members during the pandemic. At a time when the world stopped, the parks were a break from monotony, a sanctuary for stressed out parents, a place where children could interact with one another safely, and a reminder that in an uncertain world nature is constant. 

The FGP has been preserving green spaces, enhancing parks, and providing nature based education programs to our communities since its founding in 1990. Our fundraising efforts helped create Observatory Park, a dedicated Dark Sky Park and a remarkably rare and under recognized designation. We continue to fund Nature Scopes, a nature based education prorgram that all 5th graders in the county participate in. Recently, we began the planning process for a Pollinator Program that will move forward beginning in 2021. 

I want to help ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy and learn in nature and look forward to your support in my challenge this month toward that goal. 

                                                                                          - Matt