October 20, 2020 – Ottawa County for immediate release

Press contacts:

• Jessica VanGinhoven, Ottawa County Parks & Recreation (616) 738-4810
• Michelle Ready, Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (616) 738-8940 x4093

Time to play Parks Bingo!

Careerline Tech Center’s futurePREP’d program and Ottawa County Parks & Recreation are hosting a series of events to encourage students and their families to get outside this fall. This will be the kick-off event for Hope College’s Little Read Lakeshore program, an annual, month-long community-wide reading program. The community focus book is “Galapagos Girl” that tells the story of how a young girl connects to the natural world while living on the Galapagos islands.

Visit any of the four featured county parks (listed below) on any of the following days and receive a stamp from a naturalist guide on your bingo card. Families who receive four stamps will receive a free snowshoe rental from the Hemlock Crossing Nature Center this winter!

• October 24, 1-5 pm
• October 25, 1-5 pm
• November 7, 1-5 pm
• November 8, 1-5 pm

Parks Naturalist Guides will be at all of the following parks at the dates and times listed above. Don’t have a bookmark? They will have some!

• Rosy Mound Natural Area
• Hemlock Crossing
• Paw Paw Park
• Grand Ravines (North)

Changes due to inclement weather will be posted on the Ottawa County Parks Facebook page: facebook.com/OttawaCountyParks

How might we connect with nature in a virtual world?

CTC futurePREP’d programs strive to connect teachers and students to further explore real-life questions and community partnerships. This year, teachers and students are going to explore the driving question: "How might we connect with nature in a virtual world?" as a part of the Little Read Lakeshore program. 

“Design thinking is the root of all futurePREP’d programming and helps students dig deeper into understanding the world around them,” said Alex Harsay, Job Developer for Careerline Tech Center. The Little Read kick-off event is designed to encourage students and families to visit parks, explore natural areas in their community he explains. The partnership with county parks and futurePREP'd provides experiences where students can make self-to-text connections, and text-to-world connections. 

Developing such connections are strategies that help students build reading comprehension and further explore their own ELA and science standards while connecting with each other, teachers, and the community. “We are excited to see what solutions for connecting with nature in a virtual world the students come up with and to hear feedback on Ottawa County Parks Bingo,” he added.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for students and their families to discover a new county park or learn more about a park they love," said Kristen Hintz Coordinator of Interpretive Services. “Learning more about the natural areas you visit allows you to form a deeper connection to that place."

Hintz hopes that families will not only visit the parks, but also talk with the Naturalist Guides who are there. "A park experience can be enhanced when there is someone who can share some history of that area, or point out a bald eagle or red-tailed hawk soaring overhead and share that awe of discovery. You never know what you might see."

This program was created in partnership with Careerline Tech (CTC)’s futurePREP'd program. It was funded in part by the Friends of Ottawa County Parks.

About Careerline Tech Center’s futurePREP’d Programs

Careerline Tech Center’s groundbreaking futurePREP’d program aims to ensure all Ottawa area students graduate high school with the skills necessary to be successful in achieving their personal life goals which might include going to college or technical school, landing a dream job, starting a business, or discovering new talents. futurePREP’d incorporates innovative partnerships with local employers, colleges, universities, and business organizations into the curriculum to prepare students to succeed in the 21st century workforce. Careerline Tech Center is a service of the Ottawa Area ISD. www.oaisd.org/futureprepd