Summer is here; let’s explore! The hot days and long, warm evenings of summer make it a great time to explore the natural world. On Monday, June 20th at 9pm join a naturalist at Shawnee Prairie Preserve west of Greenville on St. Rt. 502 for an exciting summer walk. The hike starts late, hopefully the skies will clear to walk the trails of Shawnee by the light of the Full Strawberry Moon. Who knows what the weather will bring, so keep the conditions in mind when you dress for the hike. Because this hike begins at sunset, flashlights may be useful but are not required. For more information about this or any of the other exciting hikes in this season’s series or other Park District programs, please call the Nature Center at (937) 548-0165.

Photo Caption-The June full moon signals that time to start gathering the ripe strawberries in America, but it’s known as the full rose moon in Europe where strawberries aren’t native.

On Friday, June 3rd, representatives from Darke County Parks, Greenville City Park, and the Ladybug Garden Club met at Shawnee Prairie Preserve Nature Center to receive grants from the J. Michael Beard Community Fund, administered by the Darke County Foundation. Mike Beard was a long-standing, active resident of Darke County who died in 2013. He dedicated himself to his family, church, friends, and work at the Darke County Highway Department. Mike was fond of being outdoors, particularly at county or state parks, where he enjoyed hiking, fishing from the family boat, and going camping. His family chose to extend his legacy throughout the community via non-profit grants and scholarships through the Darke County Foundation.

The grant to the Darke County Park District will be used for landscaping and Nature Center beautification at Christmas time. The Beard children asked that Greenville City Park use its funds to plant trees in the park in memory of their father. The funds going to the Ladybug Garden Club will be used for local beautification projects such as the gazebo area and beds at the Darke County fairgrounds, the Greenville traffic circle, Arbor Day tree planting, Garst Museum Christmas trees and Wayne Healthcare Christmas decorating. All three organizations are very grateful for these generous contributions which will be put to great use in the community, and they would like to thank the J. Michael Beard family and the Darke County Foundation for their support.

Photo Caption: Those receiving funds were (top row left to right): Darke County Parks (Roger Van Frank, Director); Greenville City Parks (Deb Fall, Park Superintendent and Dale Musser, Park Board President); and the Ladybug Garden Club (President Amy Erisman, Becky Collins, Angela Beumer, Kim Cromwell, Sherry Ward, Sherri Jones, and Charlene Thornhill.) The Beard family is pictured on the bottom left.