FEATURE: FRMP Volunteers Receive the OPRA Citizen of the Year Award
It is often said that parents would "move heaven and
earth for their children." When Mike and Kate Lehner lost their son, Leo, that
is quite literally what they decided to do - move earth at a local MetroPark in
his honor.
In 2021, high school freshman, Leo Lehner, passed away
after an incident during rowing practice. Though the Lehner family was
surrounded by their family, friends, networks and local parochial/Catholic
diocese community, they decided to work through their insurmountable grief by
being a living reflection of Leo's values: adventure, generosity, kindness and
authenticity.
Since Kate fostered an appreciation of nature among Leo
and his siblings, Daniel and Maria, the Lehner family understood that spending
time outdoors while giving back to the community would be a healing endeavor.
In April 2022, Kate's extended family participated in
MetroParks' largest annual day of service, volunteering at Possum Creek
MetroPark's newly improved nature play area. Wanting to take the single day of
service a step further, Mike reached out to MetroPark staff to inquire about
more in-depth volunteer opportunities.
"I needed to move earth," Mike said. "I needed to pull
weeds and throw rocks."
After hundreds of hours of demanding volunteer work, the
Lehner family has helped maintain the nature play area and - through personal
fundraising - has supported plans for significant additions to it that will
make it more hands-on and accessible to children and parents.
The Lehner family became familiar with the nature play
area shortly after it was completed in early 2022. Because the project -
achieved entirely by MetroParks staff and volunteers - was a new build during
the pandemic, it took considerable time, and volunteers would be essential to
helping maintain the space.
Different from traditional playgrounds, nature play areas
utilize many natural elements that encourage independent and creative play.
Nature play areas offer opportunities for children to problem-solve and test
their limits in a safe environment.
"For me, [nature play areas] remind me of my son, Leo,"
said Mike. "He's just going to go out and be creative and find the most
interesting things to build or play with. In our fast-paced world where we
rarely connect with people, it gives you a great chance to make connections.
It's fun when I get to go out there and see kids explore and they are being
creative."
Mike took the need for volunteers to heart. He worked
with MetroParks' park managers and volunteer services staff to be trained to
use the necessary tools to help maintain the area. His weekly visits on
Wednesday mornings and evenings - sometimes with his family and friends - would
become a therapeutic part of Mike's grief journey.
"It was the two hours a week that I didn't have someone
talking to me and could just work while listening to a playlist that made me
think of Leo," said Mike. "The work out at Possum Creek was the most important
part of the grief process beyond counseling."
Indeed, the counseling in which Mike and Kate
participated helped them to lean on each other. Then, as a team, they leaned on
the community by asking for funds to help expand the nature play area,
envisioning a space where kids of all ages, interests and abilities could
creatively thrive in nature - just as Leo did.
"As I got to know the park staff, they started making a
wish list of what they could do with the space and Shane [former Possum Creek
MetroPark park manager] had a dream of what he wanted to see out there and I
said, 'Let's make it happen.'"
After hosting fundraisers, applying for grants and making
connections in the community, the Lehner family has raised $200,000 with an
additional $50,000 pledged to fully fund additional elements to the nature play
area, including: climbing features, a water pump, a zipline, sunshades,
archways, a dig pile, adult seating and swings and enhanced signage.
Once the additions are made - which are tentatively
slated to begin in 2026 - the Lehner family hopes to continue finding ways to
connect children to nature through community advocacy and fundraising.
"Leo lived fully, and our community's children will be
doing the same for generations to come thanks to the generosity and vision of
the Lehner family," said MetroParks Chief of Philanthropy Alexis Larsen. "This
expansion of the Possum Creek nature play area will bring it to a level that
MetroParks could never have been able to do without their generous support,
passion and hard work."
Leo's classmates, family and friends remember him as
being emphatic about people being happy and having fun. Though he had
significant special needs (ADHD and epilepsy) he was not brought down by his
challenges; rather, he was a bright spot in many of his peers' lives who
struggled to connect with others.
Mike and Kate are incredibly proud of how service-minded
he was. He set a goal of breaking his school's all-time record for service
hours, spending much of his free time working in a pantry at Catholic Social
Services.
Upon his death, his school created a website for students
to donate hours on Leo's behalf. In just six weeks, the established 885-hour
record was exceeded with people donating more than 10,000 hours to the site.
Leo's classmates are currently working on a goal to reach 15,000 by the end of
the 2025 school year, what would have been Leo's graduation.
Many of the students' service hours have been spent in
Five Rivers MetroParks - 223 hours in 2024 alone. Understanding how important
nature was to Leo and for the general physical and mental wellbeing of all
children, the Lehner's take solace in knowing kids are spending time connecting
to the natural world.
"When [Leo] got out into nature everything changed," said
Mike, "He had a real connection with nature and it had a calming influence on
him."
Mike and Kate set up a "Live Fully," Facebook group,
where they share their outdoor adventures and encourage others to do so with
the same adventurous, kind, authentic and generous nature that Leo embodied.
"There is no question that getting out in nature is
wonderful for people," said Mike. "You have to disconnect to reconnect. Find
your own nature playgrounds. Go out and find a creek, find bugs, smell
wildflowers."
Leo's final resting place is at Kateri Nature Preserve, a
natural burial space at Calvary Cemetery. He is buried among the "Wildflowers,"
a Tom Petty song that Mike frequently listens to when he spends time
volunteering at Possum Creek MetroPark.
For their stewardship, vision, service and dedication to
connecting youth to nature, Mike and Kate Lehner, and Leo Lehner (posthumously)
are being recognized by the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association as 2024
Citizens of the Year. They will officially be presented with the award the
first week of February during the Ohio Parks
and Recreation Association's annual banquet.
Thank you, Lehner family for your incredible gift of service to Five Rivers MetroParks!
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