School Program Volunteer
Seasonal Training – Spring
Five Rivers MetroParks offers a wealth of onsite educational programs for area school groups. These programs are adaptable to a multidisciplinary curriculum and meet Ohio Academic Content Standards Benchmarks. To see the full lineup of educational field trips we offer: visit our community resource page on our website.
We are welcoming back current volunteers, and recruiting new volunteers, to support our efforts with the educational field trips. Training for our school programs is seasonal with sessions in the Spring and Fall. This Annual training will focus on the Naturalist’s Spring offerings and updates in program details. The 2nd and 3rd-day offerings will allow volunteers to get better acquainted with the unique features of MetroParks, as well as, specific skills, and activities for volunteers to build their abilities.
School program field trips this season will be focused at Cox Arboretum and Wegerzyn Gardens MetroParks. This annual Spring 2024 training will focus on a general welcome session to new and returning tour guides focusing on resources and best practices for working with students in nature and then the following sessions will concentrate on two of our most popular guided offerings for spring, Habitat Safari and Bees and Butterflies. There will be three dates, March 12 (Cox), March 13 (Cox), and March 14 (Wegerzyn) from 8:30 am to noon. Volunteers should attend all dates.
Itinerary for the training:
Each session will have a "Lettuce be Sustainable" Continental Breakfast using the School Sustainable Lunch protocol and a one-on-one Get Connected review.
Tuesday, March 12:Welcome back guides! We will start in the Theater and explore some of the tools available to get students excited about nature and actively involved in field trips, safety in nature and on the trails, and share ideas for exploration and engagement when working with youth. Volunteers will get out on the grounds to explore and orient with team activity and focus on the Butterflies and Bees program with more in-depth learning about pollinators as we explore the stations.
Wednesday, March 13: Our second session will focus on the Habitat Safari program. We will work through the stations of the field trip, exploring the pond, forest, and prairie habitat in the same way that students would experience the tour and discuss best practices at each of the stations.
Thursday, March 14: Our third session will be at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark and focus on Growing Gardeners stations and cool park features to be discovered.
Please RSVP to all 3 sessions, dress for the weather, and to spend time outside for each session.
Volunteers should enjoy working with youth, be comfortable in nature, and be excited by discoveries!
Agenda Day 1
8:30 – 9:00 AM: Lettuce be Sustainable Continental Breakfast using School Sustainable Lunch protocol and one-on-one Get Connected review.
9:00 – 9:20 AM: Welcome and Introductions (Pam, Suzy & Yvonne)
• Brief Presentation: Importance of Nature for Children
• Overview of the Role of Education Naturalist Volunteers
• Constructivist/Inquiry Approach! It is okay, actually good, not to know everything and have all the answers. Help kids discover the answers for themselves.
9:20 – 9:35 AM: Outside Orientation/Getting to Know You Activity from Sharing Nature
9:35 – 10:00 AM: Resources for Teachers and Schools: Trainings, Education Kits, Virtual Resources
10:00 –10:10 AM: Break
10:10 –10:25 AM: Safety on Field Trips
10:25 – 10:35 AM Prepare for Cox Field trips, Review Butterflies & Bees Outline and Teacher Field Trip Packet
10:35 – 11:50 AM: Walk through Butterflies and Bees, stopping at stations. Play a game of Oh, Butterfly!
11:50 AM Wrap Up, Discuss Plans for Day 2
Additional Notes
- This is a Long-Term Volunteer Opportunity. Learn more about our types of service here.
- Standing, walking, bending over, reaching.
See the Programming Volunteer Position Description for more detailed information.
The staff Lead, and content experts, for training dates, will include Beth Burke (Interpretive Education Coordinator), Doug Horvath (Outdoor Education Coordinator), Suzy Kroeger (Outdoor Education Specialist), Pam Lynons-Gromen (School Program Coordinator), and Joshua York (Outdoor Education Coordinator).
