By Jordan Studer
jstuder@wbcowqel.com
The newest addition to the Crawford Park District is actually not someone with four legs. Lisa Bogard has just come on staff as the new naturalist, jumping right in to the chaos and loving every bit of it.
Growing up in Xenia, Ohio, Bogard developed a love for animals at a very young age. She loved taking trips to her uncle’s farm to take advantage of all the fun she could have there. From playing in the chicken coop to bottle feeding calves, she was just drawn to animals.
She comments on how she used to beg her parents to get a horse. She would promise them that she would keep it in her bedroom. She laughed as she said they quickly denied that idea on many different occasions.
With her love for animals she always wanted to be a vet, so off she went to undergrad for pre-vet medicine at Findlay University. During that time, she started working at the Toledo Zoo in their education department in the role of children’s zookeeper.
While there Bogard also enjoyed volunteering with the zoo vet. However, the longer she worked in the education department, the more she began to realize what career path would give her the most joy every day.
Her passion remained with nature and animals, but she decided that she wanted to educate people about the wonders of it all and having fun while doing so. Bogard remained with the Toledo Zoo for over eleven years in their education department and loved every minute of it.
During that time, Bogard completed two Bachelor of Science degrees in Pre-Veterinary Medicine and Biology. Upon completing those degrees, she was accepted into Project Dragonfly, which is a master’s program through Miami University.
While in the program Bogard got to experience nature on a whole new level. Each year the Project Dragonfly program took a ten-day study abroad trip. It was the first year trip to Belize where Bogard’s passion grew even more. The students got to do a variety of things. They went to local schools and did art projects with the kids.
Even more exciting, Bogard explained, was the manatee watching and scoping out sea turtle nests. Another trip was to Costa Rica and Australia where students took their research down under, literally, as they conducted a reef study while snorkeling and scuba diving.
Upon completing her Master of Arts in Zoology degree, she took a part-time position at Hancock Park District as a Program Specialist. Bogard had that position for two years before the position at the Crawford Park District opened up.
Since taking the job here, Bogard raves about how amazing it has been.
“I love it! I go home with smiles on my face. Friends and family ask, ‘How’s the new job? Are you adjusting and fitting in well?’ and I just start laughing. I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I jumped right in!’ Both feet, big ker-splash! It’s been great,” Bogard excitedly replied.
Bogard has a husband, a 10-year-old daughter, and three dogs which no doubt keep her life busy enough. She also enjoys running in races and competing in sprint triathlons as well. With all that she has going on outside of being a naturalist, one may wonder how Bogard can be so enthusiastic and energetic on the job.
All of the chaos in her schedule seems to only motivate her and boost her with more energy to charge up her kind smile. If anyone at the parks show interest in nature, Bogard greets them with enthusiastic information about the particular animal or plant they are looking at.
Bogard just had a Turtle Talk for the community where anyone interested could come and hold turtles, observe turtles, and learn more about their lifestyle. Fifty-two people attended the event.
Asking Bogard what her favorite part of working for Crawford Park District is, she replied after much thought, saying that it is hard to pick one thing specifically.
“I love who I work with, they’re great. I really do love all the community that comes in, the kids. I also really enjoy the chaos of it,” Bogard replied with a laugh.
She comments how she learns something new every day, especially exploring an area she did not grow up in. Through all the events she says that she loves learning from the kids.
“I tell the kids, ‘Did you know that?’ And they will tell me something and I’ll be like, well there’s my something new I learned today. They look at me… I’m like, you learn something new every day,” she explains.
Such a positive attitude is bound to bring more and more of the community out to learn more from our newest naturalist. There will be plenty of opportunities to do so as well since Bogard is in the midst of organizing many other events.
Coming up next Friday, she is putting on an event at Unger Park called Archery Games. From balloon shoots and candy shoots there will be ample opportunities to just have fun. In August she is organizing an adaptations program where she will teach the many adaptations of various plants and animals that help them to survive.
When summer wraps up, Bogard is planning on kicking off a series for kids who are home-schooled. She is planning out the different themes for the classes such as adaptations, communities, and other things that cover the Ohio standards. She is beyond excited to provide this opportunity for the community and has set high hopes that the community will be just as enthused.