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Darke County Parks educates visitors through interpretive signage
If you haven’t taken a walk through the pollinator meadow on the south
side of the Bish Discovery Center’s parking lot, you’ve missed out on a
variety of bumble bees, butterflies, dragonflies and more that call
this habitat “home”. This meadow has been growing and evolving for the
past 2-3 years from the original seeding, followed by subsequent
planting through grants and support from U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service and Pollinator Partnership. With all of these plants being
native and many being perennial, we are just now reaching the ideal
flowering seasons as many of these species spend a year or more setting
root before really putting on a show! This habitat is prime real
estate for pollinators, but was lacking signage explaining what the
public was experiencing. With that in mind, a grant was sought
out in order to develop the above-mentioned signage. This project fit
the requirements for a grant offered through the National Association
for Interpretation (NAI) and was applied for last fall.
After receiving confirmation that their request for funds for
interpretive signage had been granted from the NAI, Darke County Parks’
staff went to work on the project right away. The sign was designed in
house by naturalist Megan Schmidt and sent to Pannier Graphics. Pannier
Graphics printed the design on a 30”x20” fiberglass embedded panel.
Once the printed sign was received, lumber for the frame and protective
Lexan was ordered from Ansonia Lumber Company. The construction of the
frame was completed by long-time parks volunteer Bill Rich. Sign
installation was completed by parks maintenance staff and the project
was officially completed July 15th, 2020.
This spring and summer has been unique for everyone. With the
coronavirus forcing many to stay at home, the park trails experienced
even more visitors than usual. Individuals and families can visit the
Bish Discovery Center and walk through the pollinator field anytime
from dawn to dusk. Upon entering the field, visitors can now stop to
read the interpretive sign that explains the importance of pollinators
and also encourages readers to do their part. The pollinator sign
serves as an educational tool for the park district, where staff may
not always be available, visitors can read the sign and learn more
about the importance of the habitat they are visiting.
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