GPDs LongStanding Fair Tradition Takes Flight

By Travel Destination 06 Sep, 2022 Post a Comment

Keeping Score In The Ip Game Ieee Spectrum

If you ever visited the natural resources area at The Great Geauga County Fair, it’s hard not to notice the prominent role naturalists play.

A favorite educational experience, for many, is the monarch butterfly display.

“We’re always so excited for visitors to see the monarch display cage, with the many green chrysalis’ and newly-emerging butterflies,” said Holly Sauder, Geauga Park District special events coordinator. “It’s also always exciting to see a newly-tagged monarch take flight for the first time and start their migration to Mexico.”

According to the Farmers’ Almanac, “Monarch butterflies travel as much as 100 miles a day during their 3,000-mile migration south.”

As a longtime staff member of Geauga Park District, GPD Executive Director John Oros said he’s had the opportunity to work many days in their fair building, where the monarch butterfly exhibit has been featured for years.

“I was part of the original crew who built the Geauga Park District fair building in the natural resource area that remains today,” Oros said.

In the mid 1990s, Oros worked alongside then Director John O’Meara and his fellow Middlefield and Burton Rotarians to construct the building.

“I was able to witness the vision of the Geauga County Game Warden Jay ‘Reno’ Reda and the passion he had for the wildlife of Geauga County,” Oros said. “This area demonstrated his vision for getting the Geauga County community excited about conservation. Fast forward to now and the wise use and conservation of natural resources is evident in the organizations that Jay aligned to The Great Geauga County Fair.”

Alongside the GPD are organizations like Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Geauga County Coon and Rabbit Hunters, Ohio State Trappers Association, Punderson State Park and Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District.

“And let’s not forget, what would a fair be without the demonstration of all of the great dogs represented in retrieving demonstrations,” Oros added.

The park district is helping celebrate the fair’s bicentennial milestone by embracing its red, white and blue theme in their building.

Baca Juga

“We’ll be featuring the red, white and blue that occur in nature such as red fox, white tailed deer and blue birds just to name a few,” GPD Chief Naturalist John Kolar said.

A naturalist will be working the GPD building in the natural resources area throughout the fair from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., beginning after the ribbon cutting opening the fair Aug. 31.

Naturalists will be presenting the “Monarchs on the Move” program each day at 3:30 p.m. at the GPD building and monarchs will be tagged for migration throughout the duration of the fair.

GPD staff has been raising monarch caterpillars from eggs throughout the month of August to have chrysalis ready for monarch butterflies to emerge throughout the six days of the fair.“(The fair is) a time to interact with Geauga residents and visitors, share our interactive display, answer questions about the parks and offer educational insight on the magnificent monarch butterfly,” Sauder said. “This year especially, we’re so happy to be celebrating this incredible 200th anniversary milestone and hope that the visitors enjoy our natural spin on the red, white and blue theme.

“It’s an honor and privilege for me and our Geauga Park District staff to have a lengthy record of success in standing alongside fellow conservation organizations to educate the public at the fair,” Oros added. “We hope our residents continue to get excited about the plants, animals and natural features that make Geauga County such a special place to live. In our case, having such a constant annual presence in our natural resources area goes a long way in connecting folks to the great experiences they can have in their parks, in addition to educating visitors on the decline of the monarch, as well as what they can do at their homes and businesses to help.”

Kolar said seeing people’s faces as they interact with the monarchs and watch them depart on their long journey ahead is a fair highlight.

“Hopefully, fairgoers return to our building during this special 200th anniversary celebration to visit the monarchs — a fair-time tradition for many — and learn what’s new for them to enjoy another day in their Geauga Park District,” Sauder said.