By Jordan Studer
news@wbcowqel.com
It was just another field trip his class was taking for young Logan Masters.
He was in the middle of a nature hike with the rest of his class, on cloud nine. Suddenly the class crossed paths with a garter snake. The entire class was frightened by the encounter, but not Masters. Without hesitation, he bent over and picked the snake right up. A camera snapped and the candid moment was captured. Little did Masters know, that moment at Lowe-Volk Park was just the beginning of his bright future.
Growing up, Masters mentions he was always forced to go outside and play despite the weather. Soon, his adventures outside had him falling in love with nature and animals. His family enjoyed setting out on frequent hunting and fishing trips in which Masters took a great fascination to as well.
As Masters grew older, he became very involved in 4-H and FFA. Among many other things, he enjoyed going to Kelley’s Island in the summers for 4-H camp. Between all of those things, Masters realized what he wanted to do with his life.
Off to Hocking College he went to pursue his dual major of forestry and natural resources law enforcement. Soon after, he was able to go back to 4-H camp at Kelley’s Island and become a naturalist where he spent many of his summers exploring.
Several weeks ago, the Crawford Park District hired Masters as the newest addition to their staff. It was then that Masters’ past finally became something more than a picture he kept on a shelf.
Masters has many jobs with the park district. Some of the major things he has his hands in are field trips and demonstrations for classes. Backbone Bonanza is a program that Masters also helps with where trips are taken into preschool classrooms. The kids learn all about animals that have backbones, just like humans. Between the pictures and skeletons shown, the students are always very intrigued.
Not only does Masters bring a passion for nature, he also brings many new ideas. The one he is most excited about is his very own creation, Can You Snap like a Snapper? The grand opening of this event is at 5 p.m. today (June 3) at Lowe-Volk Park. Through this program, Masters will share his vast knowledge of snapping turtles to his audience. He hopes that his presentation will not only interest people, but also raise awareness of the danger of snapping turtles.
Masters was actually able to have this event on Kelley’s Island prior to bringing it to Lowe-Volk. There, he was able to have a 30-pound snapping turtle and here he was able to get three snapping turtles over 30 pounds. Needless to say, he has high hopes for his program here in Crawford County as well.
Masters is very excited for this program and hopes to bring many other new ideas to the table as well. No matter what he can do, his biggest drive is to get kids outside.
“A lot of times anymore everything is technology driven. Everybody has to have computers. All the kids have to play their video games,” Masters said.
He wants to change that. He would love to teach kids and families that getting outside and exploring, like he once did, can be more fun than being cooped up all day.
Masters’ passion and effort is truly paying off. The best part of his job, he says, is getting that special thanks from a child saying that they really learned something of value and really enjoyed it too.
Check online at www.crawfordparkdistrict.org for information regarding upcoming programs hosted by Masters and others in the park district.