News/Improvements

 

 

 

 

Text Box: Some of the volunteers from The Friends of Madison Lake State Park: Front: Rick and Michelle Bierbaugh, Holly Dingus, Regional Park Manager Virgil Goodwine, Tammy and Ron Cook Back:  Billy Holland, Derek Dingus, Kacey Osborne, John Jacobs, Joe Nibert, and Greg Ellars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: MADISON LAKE STATE PARK CLEANUP WEEKEND 2009 Volunteers from The Friends of Madison Lake State Park, Inc. in co-operation with Team Buck Creek held their 2009 2-Day Park Cleanup Weekend at Madison Lake State Park on May 16th and 17th. Nearly 20 volunteers participated over the course of the weekend cleanup effort. Dodging the threat of rain on Saturday, volunteers planted flowers (donated by Ehmann and Sons Greenhouses and Friends group members) throughout the park and around the sign at the park entrance. John Jacobs of Arbor King Tree Service (and a member of the Friends group) donated his time, equipment, and staff for a day of chipping fallen limbs and clearing brush. Other volunteers spent hours mowing, raking the sand at the beach and sand volleyball court, and picking up litter. On Sunday, volunteers picked up litter along Sugar Maple Trail, and spent time trimming and weed-eating. The grills in the picnic areas were cleaned and readied for the upcoming holiday weekend. Lunch each day was donated by local residents Jerry and Joyce Dingus. The Friends of Madison Lake, through the dedication of their committed volunteers and the strong support of the staff of Buck Creek State Park, under the direction of Regional Park Manager Virgil Goodwine, enjoyed a successful cleanup weekend. Our park is looking good, and ready for a great summer season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: Buck Creek Region Camporee This weekend was a very busy Boy Scout weekend in the Buck Creek Region. Dr. Neil Andrews, Parks Advisory Board Chair and Recreation Resource Committee member, assisted Team Buck Creek in welcoming a diverse group of Boy Scouts to Ohio State Parks.  Making their first visit to Buck Creek were the Capital District Boy Scouts. This troop, led by Scoutmaster Bill Mathews, is comprised of inner city Scouts from Columbus. Their Spring Camporee was eventful, as they prepared a site at the new Conestoga Camp office for planting of wildflowers as their service project as well as cleaned their immediate area of litter. This beautification project was followed up by a Naturalist Aide Program presented by Buck Creek Naturalist Tom Wiegel. Tom prepared a “Skins and Skulls” program which introduced the scouts to the park’s diverse wildlife utilizing the animal’s fur and skulls for identification. The scouts also made plaster molds of animal tracks, and identified them from the finished molds. The finished tracks were taken home by the scouts as a memento of this activity. In addition, the Miami Valley Astronomical Society came from Dayton and set up telescopes to introduce the Capital District Scouts to the wonders of the constellations. President Rick Weiss of the Miami Valley Astronomical Society, along with Secretary Linda Weiss and her assistant Bob, explained how the telescopes work and about the different constellations. Scoutmaster Art Johnson brought the Northern Tier of the Tecumseh Council of the Boy Scouts to Buck Creek for their Spring Camporee. The scouts were put up in park Area 7 for the weekend, a scenic area that overlooks the marina. This area, containing a restroom, is barricaded to protect the privacy of the incoming scouts. As part of the Camporee, the scouts performed a litter clean up of the Marina area, as well as the immediate area surrounding their campsite. This type of project assists the park in providing a cleaner environment for all our park visitors, and gives the scouts a sense of civic pride in our parks. We look forward to partnering with this fine group of Clark County scouts again.  The final visit for the day took Dr. Neil Andrews and Regional Park Manager Virgil Goodwine to John Bryan to welcome the Tecumseh Council-Chillicothe District and Greene County Scouts to their Spring Camporee. Scoutmaster Joe Isherwood led the scouts on a clean up of tree limbs and debris from the main picnic area. This helps our staff as we begin our mow season, and provides a good first impression to our John Bryan park users. The scouts also enjoyed “Olympic” type games that were set up by their Council for their enjoyment. Scoutmaster Joe Isherwood met with Regional Manager Goodwine and Dr. Andrews to thank them and Ohio State Parks for providing the scouts with a service project.  This was a busy weekend for Team Buck Creek; but with the help of Park Naturalist Tom Wiegel, Parks Conservation Worker Charles Burton, NRW David Givens, and the Miami Valley Astronomical Society, Boy Scouts from the Capital City District-Simon Kenton Council, Chillicothe District- Tecumseh Council, and the Northern Tier- Logan, Champaign, and Clark County Tecumseh Council had an enjoyable stay in the Buck Creek Region.  Another successful event for Ohio State Parks, the Boy Scouts, and Team Buck Creek. Text Box: Team Buck Creek Celebrates Earth Day  On Saturday April 25, Team Buck Creek celebrated Earth Day by hosting a litter clean up day at the park. Over 50 volunteers donated their time and efforts to beautify Buck Creek for all our park visitors. Representatives from Northeastern High School in Springfield, The Ohio Horseman’s Council, Miami Valley Carriage Association, Springfield Disc Golf Association, members of the Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist Program, and numerous individual volunteers removed over 30 bags of trash from various areas of the park, and performed a variety of enhancement projects to existing park facilities. Volunteers from the Ohio Horseman’s Council-Clark County Chapter, and the Miami Valley Carriage Association, removed litter surrounding the equestrian area and performed trail maintenance to improve the horse trails. In addition, the Horseman’s Council also revamped the ornamental flower beds at the shelter house in the horse camp. They created a new ornamental flower bed in the shape of a horse shoe, adding to the equestrian theme of the area. Volunteers from the Springfield Disc Golf Association removed trash and litter from the disc golf course as well as removed brush and debris from the course. These enhancements should improve the play, and provide a cleaner course for all our disc golfers. A group of volunteers from Northeastern High School, and numerous other individuals provided their support in removing litter and debris from picnic areas, our boat ramp, and the marina area. Their generous donation of time and effort will no doubt make a positive and lasting impression on everyone who visits Buck Creek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page last updated on 05/18/2009