CRESTLINE—Several events are already planned for March by the Crawford Park District and more plans are in the making. Spring is coming soon and many local kids and their families are ready to spend time outside. These events are designed to educate as well as provide fun for everyone.

The annual Hi-Tech Easter Egg Hunt at Lowe-Volk Park is on again this year and will include a nature-based question on each egg that needs to be answered. Kids finding all the eggs and answering the questions will receive a small prize when completed. Bring your smartphone, GPS unit or borrow a GPS unit from the staff at Lowe-Volk for the Hi-tech egg hunt. Follow The event will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on March 28 at the Lowe-Volk Nature Center, located at 2401 State Route 598, near Crestline. Registration is required for all events. Simply call the Park District at 419-683-9000 to register. Nature Center hours are Monday -Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Other events scheduled at this time at the Park District are listed below and others may be added throughout the month:

Storybook Trail: The Secret Pool by Kimberly Ridley from Monday, March 1-Wednesday, March 31 at the Heckert Nature Preserve, 1601 State Route 19

The Crawford Park District invites you to take a spring hike at our parks to find the Storybook Trails that will explore different habitats and what animals you can find there. The hike for March focuses on the vernal pools of Heckert Nature Preserve. When you complete the  Storybook Trail, send a picture of the last page of the book to aditomassi@crawfordpd.org or message Crawford Park District on Facebook to receive a button. Heckert Nature Preserve is located at 1601 State Route 19 west of State Route 602.

Clover Hike from Monday, March 1 to Wednesday, March 31 at Lowe-Volk Park

Take a stroll through the Crawford Park District’s Lowe-Volk Park looking for four-leaf clovers as you go. Each clover will have a tidbit of information for you to read. Once you finish your hike, stop at the front desk of the Nature Center to collect your prize!

Homeschool in Nature: GPS on Thursday, March 4 or March 11 at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Lowe-Volk Park, 2401 State Route 598

This month the Crawford Park District welcomes Homeschoolers to learn how to use GPS units while locating specific waypoints throughout the park. Dress for the weather because we will be outside. Classes are limited to 10 students per session. Please call the Crawford Park District at 419-683-9000 to reserve a spot for your 5 to 12-year-old.

Gettin’ Froggy: Wood Frogs on Saturday, March 20 at 2 p.m. at Heckert Nature Preserve, 1601 State Route 19

Join Crawford Park District Naturalist Abby for a froggy adventure to Heckert Nature Preserve’s vernal pools. We will be learning all about the Wood Frog and hoping to use their vocalizations to find them in the woods. We will also have traps set to see if we can catch them or other animals that visit the vernal pools in early spring. Dress for the weather and bring waders or rain boots if you have them.  Call the Crawford Park District office at 419-683-9000 to register. Heckert Nature Preserve is located at 1601 State Route 19 west of State Route 602.

Feeding Day on Sunday, March 21 at 1 p.m. at Lowe-Volk Park, 2401 State Route 598

Will it be fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, shrimp, worms, or mice? Can you guess what’s on the menu for the animals of the Crawford Park District Nature Center? If you want to help feed some of the animals, call the Crawford Park District office at 419-683-9000 to register.

Infant Explorers:  Insects on Wednesday, March 24 at 5 p.m. at Lowe-Volk Park, 2401 State Route 598

Your first instinct may be to keep your babies indoors, but research tells us that infants in outdoor spaces benefit from access to a wide variety of sensory stimuli which they just can’t experience indoors. Join Crawford Park District Naturalist Abby and baby Vincenzo for a program about insects that will engage your infants’ senses and get parents and babies out of the house for some fresh air! Dress for the weather, we will be outside for at least part of the program.  Call the Crawford Park District office at 419-683-9000 to register.

Vernal Pool Exploration on Saturday, March 27 at 1 p.m. at Heckert Nature Preserve, 1601 State Route 602

Vernal Pools are a diverse habitat to explore. Join Crawford Park District Director, Josh Dyer for an investigation of the vernal pools at Heckert looking for bugs, frogs, and SALAMANDERS, of course! All ages welcome. Wear rubber boots.  Call the Crawford Park District office at 419-683-9000 to register.  Heckert Nature Preserve is located at 1601 State Route 19 west of State Route 602.

Viewing the Night Sky on Saturday, March 27 at 8 p.m. at Lowe-Volk Park, 2401 State Route 598

Join members of the Crawford Park Astronomy Club as they share their knowledge and telescope skills with all who are interested in the celestial sights. Some of the targets for the spring are:

M41 – 2,300 light-years away is Canis Major, an open cluster 4 degrees south of Sirius

Mars – is very favorable for a while longer

Castor – is 370 million years old, 50 light-years away, consists of multiple stars and contains the 20th brightest star in the sky

NGC 2392 –discovered in 1787 by William Herschel, the Clown Face Nebula is 5000 light-years away, found in Gemini

NGC 2632 – a very pretty sight is the Beehive Cluster, sometimes referred to as the Northern Jewel Box

M50 – an open cluster in Monoceros is 2,870 light-years away, and contains 508 stars

M42 – the great nebula of Orion is 1,300 light-years away and 12 light-years across, and is the birthplace of stars

Andromeda Galaxy – the closest major galaxy to the Milky Way, a real sight to behold

Pleiades – 410 light-years away, visible with binoculars, very young at only 20 million years old

Hyades – open star cluster 153 light-years away, moving away from us at 100,000 mph

Crab Nebula – super nova remanent

Sirius – the brightest star in the sky is the Dog Star

North Star – also known as Polaris, is a double star

Asterism – Three Leaps of the Gazelle, once you have it shown to you, you’ll wonder why you didn’t notice it before!

Asterism – Big Dipper, our guide to the North star, includes a double star

There are a lot of other objects to view. What we see will depend on what the clouds are doing.

Nature Camp 2021 Registration Open

2021 Nature Camp Registration is now open! Reservations are made with a full-payment presented at the Lowe-Volk Nature Center. Credit Card payments over the phone will not be accepted until March 2. You may visit www.crawfordpd.org for more information or to access the registration forms.

Call the Crawford Park District office at 419-683-9000 to register. Lowe-Volk Park is located three miles north of US Route 30.

For information on other programs offered by the Crawford Park District, visit the website or Facebook Page.