(upbeat music) - Welcome to Forum 360, Global Outlook, Local View.

I'm your host, Pat Simons.

Summit Metro Parks invites all people to enjoy its many unique park locations throughout Summit County, and they are celebrating their 100th birthday this year.

Please join me in welcoming my guest, Stephanie Walton, Summit Metro Parks' Chief of Marketing and Communications to tell us more about this exciting celebration year.

Welcome Stephanie.

- Thank you, thank you so much for having me.

- Well, we've got a lot to talk about and I thought as you have kicked off the celebration in January, 2021, I thought maybe we could talk a little bit about the history starting off and talk a little bit about the early leaders whose vision and dedication have brought us to this day.

I thought it was a very curious thing that in the early 1900s, changes were occurring in our society and that was influencing their attitudes on preserving public lands.

And that same time, the U.S. Congress was making changes and the Ohio legislature was making changes, and that was helping the Akron Metro Parks formed.

Can you tell us a little bit about what was going on during that period of time?

- Sure, so around the turn of the century, industrialization was just continuing to increase and as people were moving out of the rural areas and from farms and into the cities, there was just an increased awareness of the need to protect some of these beautiful public green spaces for people of those times to enjoy and into the future.

So as you mentioned around that time, the National Park Service was established.

And then here in Ohio, the General Assembly passed a law that allowed counties to establish metropolitan park districts.

So that's what Summit Metro Parks is.

It's a metropolitan park district.

- Okay, thank you.

Well, according to the website, Harold Wagner was your first Director Secretary.

He served Akron Metro Parks from 1926 and 1958.

Tell me what those early years were like.

- Sure, so yes, Wagner came from Boston.

He was a young landscape architect when he arrived in Akron to help FA Seiberling design the Fairlawn Heights Neighborhood.

So that's what brought him to Akron.

And then he ended up staying here for the rest of his career after he came on to lead the park district.

- Oh, thank you.

Now there've been many park directors over the years.

Not as many as you would think given 100 years.

Well, has that role changed?

- Sure, yeah, so we have had many directors who have stayed for decades, so you're right.

We have not had that many.

Our current director is the first woman in the role.

And some things have changed about the position and many things have stayed the same.

Every park director has been focused on protecting natural resources and connecting people to nature.

And it just has evolved over the years.

What exactly that means in those early years they were really focused on proactively protecting properties, acquiring land for the park district.

Whereas now we're more focused on conservation and research, managing those properties and really making sure that we're evolving to meet the current needs of the population of Summit County.

- Now you did mention FA Seiberling founder of Goodyear, and he was a first park commissioner.

What was his vision and his reasons for involvement?

- Sure, well, he was one of our early commissioners.

That's correct.

And he also made the first significant land donation to the park district.

So he donated what is now Sand Run Metro Park from the Stan Hywet Estate.

So that was part of his estate that he donated to the park district back in the late 1920s.

So he had a really significant and important role in the establishment of the park district.

I think the entire Seiberling family just really had that legacy of giving back to the community and they're very visionary and just focused on what makes Akron unique and really making sure to invest in that.

- No, I think there is... Do you think there is like a connection of family value that has been passed on from FA Seiberling to his son, former U.S.

Congressman John Seiberling who acted to preserve and protect the Cuyahoga Valley?

- Yeah, it would seem so.

And I think it really goes back to what just seems to be a real family focus on giving back to the community, care for the environment and, aren't we all so fortunate to have benefited from that.

We now have this wonderful park district and a national park.

It's really just amazing and makes this area really unique and special.

- Now the Centennial website tells us about pioneer landscape architects, Marquis and Whiting, and they were tasked with finding locations for the new park system.

How does Summit Metro Parks acquire land today?

How do you choose locations?

- So today we are really more focused on managing the land that we currently have.

We have over 14,000 acres across 16 parks, about 150 miles of trail.

So we're not actively going out and seeking new properties.

Although if a property becomes available and it's just very appropriate for conservation, that's certainly something that we're interested in learning about.

But yeah, in those early days we had some really nationally renowned landscape architects.

We're so fortunate, they came to this area, they created a master plan for the park district that really guided us into where we are today.

And a really interesting note, a very neat anecdote from that is that in that original master plan, they identified the Valley View Area, which was the Valley View golf course that we recently acquired and are turning into a park.

So that was identified way back almost 100 years ago in that original master plan.

And the park district was able to get it about five years ago.

So that's a real benefit for the residents of Summit County.

- Oh, that would be interesting to take a look at that master plan from the historic point of view.

- Yeah, yeah, they knew what they were talking about.

- So I understand that the parks system also has an area of conservation undeveloped areas.

Tell us about those and can the public access them.

- So we do, we have a number of conservation areas and those are generally pretty sensitive areas that are under the protection of the park district.

They're not open to the park district to explore on their own, but we do have from time to time, we have naturalist led hikes and programs that would allow you to go into those areas.

So keep an eye on our website.

We do offer those pretty regularly.

- Oh, that's great.

Well, when I looked at the Centennial website, it's amazing the number of volunteers and supporters who have brought the parks all along the way with their efforts.

But I thought it was very endearing to see the contributions by the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

Describe some of their volunteerism that has occurred yesterday and today.

- Yes, so we have been fortunate to have partnerships with both the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts.

They go back really to the park districts, very, very beginnings.

A lot of the projects that they did were tree plantings, and you'll even see some signs throughout the park district here and there that identify certain groves of trees as having been planted by the Girl Scout from many decades ago.

Yes, one place to check that out is at Hampton Hills Metro Park is a very cool pine forest that was planted by some Girl Scouts.

So their legacy is still here many years later.

And with the Boys Scouts also did some tree plantings.

They also cared for the groves after the Girl Scouts planted them.

And also just all kinds of other service projects that we have been so fortunate to benefit from.

And that partnership with those organizations does certainly extend to today.

- Well, that's great.

Now I understand you're inviting Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts past and present to send in their stories, and they can be published- - Yeah, absolutely.

We're inviting everybody to send in their stories, especially those folks who may have a particular tie to the Metro Parks.

So on our Centennial website, there's a form, and there's also a phone number you can call if you prefer to leave a recording, but we just wanna hear from everybody about what the Metro Parks have meant to them.

If they have a special moment in their life that happened in the Metro Parks or just some tied to the Metro Parks, they did the fall hiking spree with their family.

We want to hear all those stories.

And yes, they absolutely may be published in all sorts of different ways.

They might be used in a media story.

They might be used on our blog or in our Green Islands Magazine.

So we just, like I said, the parks are just really part of the culture and fabric of Summit County at this point 100 years in.

And we really wanna capture those stories forever.

- It says a lot about the community that wants to preserve land like that for the use by all.

- Absolutely, I think we have, yes, we're so fortunate here in Summit County, we have such a community minded.

Our community is just very focused on doing what's best for everyone and that's really something special.

- Well, I would like to get down to the real fun stuff.

Let's talk about this year of celebration that you have going on.

Now, there is a main Metro Parks website and the public can go there, find out lots of information and activities, but you have created a very special website for the Centennial, and that can be found at summitmetroparks100.org.

Tell us what's gonna be, or what is on that website?

- Sure, well, yeah, the website is a good place to start.

If you're interested in our Centennial celebrations or anything about the history of the Metro Parks.

So when you visit that site, you can do a number of things.

You can take a virtual journey through time.

We have an interactive timeline that has archival photographs and even some really cool video footage from all the way back to the 1920s showing people enjoying the parks.

So that timeline kind of just walks you through the decades of both Summit County and the parks themselves.

And then there's also information on all the fun activities we have going on this year that people can take part in.

- And I believe you have themes throughout.

I'm sorry, did I miss that?

- Yes, we do.

So we have four themes for the Centennial celebration that really just describe what the parks are about.

So they are protecting natural resources, celebrating our cultural heritage, connecting people to nature and honoring community support.

Because back to that point, you made a minute ago, the parks just would not be what they are today without the support of our community, both through their votes, through their volunteering time, through their charitable donations.

We just really are so fortunate for the Summit County community.

- Now you can also plant a tree?

- You can.

So we have a couple of different opportunities for planting a tree this year.

We have a reforestation goal to reforest 100 acres of the Metro Parks in what we're calling them Centennial groves.

So all throughout the Metro Parks, we're adding trees to the parks basically, in these Centennial groves.

So you can sponsor a tree by going on the website and making a donation to the Metro Parks Foundation.

We'll also have some planting opportunities where you could come and volunteer to help us plant.

And then we also throughout the year going to have a few giveaways of what we're calling our heritage trees.

And those are trees that were grown from really special iconic trees within the park district.

And so they're like baby Metro Parks trees that have been created.

And we just had a big giveaway of those.

And we're hoping to have a few more throughout the year.

So you can take a piece of the Metro Parks home and plant it in your own yard.

- Oh, that's a wonderful memento (laughs).

- Yeah.

- If you've just now joined us, this is Forum 360 and my guest is Stephanie Walton.

She is the Summit Metro Parks' Chief of Marketing and Communications.

And she's telling us about this Summit Metro Parks 2021 Centennial celebration.

You also are selling special merchandise too as memento.

- Yes, that is true.

We have at our Maple Leaf Gift Store, which is in the Nature Realm on Smith Road in Akron not currently open to the public, unfortunately due to COVID, but we do have an online page where you can see all the merchandise and you can call in and place an order.

And we have some pickup opportunities.

So we've got water bottles, we've got apparel, we have puzzles, we have posters all celebrating the Centennial.

So we have some pretty fun stuff.

And I invite everybody to go online and check that out.

- There's also a special license plate being offered.

- There is, we have a special license plate frame that many people may be familiar with.

We've had license plate frames for many years, but we revamped it for the Centennial.

So that's another thing that you can stop by.

We have a number of spree reward pickup opportunities throughout the spring and summer.

You can check out the dates on our website, but we'll be outside socially distanced and safe for getting people their spree rewards, allowing them to purchase merchandise and just to answer any questions that the public may have.

- Oh, we probably should talk about the spree.

- Yes.

- Talk about it.

- Yes, so, well, we have a couple of sprees each year.

We have this spree for all which is our spree for hikers of all abilities that runs from May 1st to June 30th.

And then we have our fall hiking spree, which is what most people may be more familiar with.

That's been running for well over 50 years and runs from September 1st, November 30th.

And basically the rule of both sprees is that you complete a certain number of trails and you earn a free reward.

So those are both really fun.

And then layered on top of those this year, we have what we're calling as our Centennial Tour, which compliments both sprees and allows you to visit 20 Metro Parks locations for a really special commemorative leather Centennial tag that can go on your hiking staff.

- Oh, that's really cool.

I did wanna go back for a moment and talk about the different logos.

There's a logo for Summit Metro Parks, but then you have developed a logo, special logo for the Centennial.

Where does that artwork come from and what do they symbolize?

- Sure, well, so our regular Metro Parks logo was actually designed back in the '80s by a University of Akron student.

We had a contest when we got a new name when we became Metro Parks serving Summit County.

And there was a design contest that a student won.

And so her design has been tweaked over the years, but it initially was designed by a student.

And then our Centennial logo is kind of cool as well because it features a tree that was on the original logo back when we were Akron Metropolitan Park District.

So the silhouette, the tree is a tie back to that, as well as the font that's in the Centennial logo is a tie back to that original logo as well.

And then it has some elements of our current branding tied in.

And the thing that we love about the tree is it really symbolizes the past, present and future of the Metro Parks.

- And then you're doing all of this Centennial growth with trees too- - Exactly, exactly.

- A nice tie-in.

- Yes.

- Let's talk just a moment about people might be a little bit curious since you share boundaries, different boundaries with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

People may be curious about what your relationship is and if you as collaborations.

- Oh, absolutely.

The national park works very closely with Summit Metro Parks.

We do share a lot of boundary.

Some of our parks are actually completely within the national park.

So yeah, we work very closely together and our biologists and scientists work closely together on research projects and that kind of thing.

And actually people may be surprised to learn that quite a bit of the property that we manage or I should say some of the property that we manage is not actually owned by the Metro Parks.

So we have partnerships with all sorts of organizations.

I believe it was the Towpath, the part of the Towpath that Summit Metro Parks manages we don't own.

So we work closely with the Ohio & Erie Canalway Association to manage that property.

But we have several partnerships like that in land management agreements that require that collaboration and partnerships.

So it's a big part of what we do.

- Now do you have any like camps, like Boy Scout, Girl Scout camps or special camps within, they're not in your- - No we don't.

We have a camp ground at Nimisila Reservoir Metro Parking Green that has your typical camping type of amenities, but we don't have Boy or Girl Scout camps.

- I thought perhaps the public might be interested in a little lightning round of amazing statistics and facts.

First question up, are you ready?

- I think so.

- How is the Park District funded?

- It is funded through a property tax, so thank you Summit County voters.

We are very grateful for your support.

- And I believe I read on the website, you also receive grants and other form of donations?

- Yes, we do.

We compete for state and federal grants and we've been very fortunate to be very successful in that avenue.

And then we also do have, as I mentioned, our Summit Metro Parks Foundation for charitable donations.

- Thank you.

Now who can use the parks and are they free?

- They are open to all and yes, they are free.

- And do you ever have functions where you pay a fee to participate?

- The only fees that we ever charge occasionally we have a nominal fee for a program.

If it's a program that involves a licensed instructor or a rental of equipment, like our kayaking programs and that kind of thing, but the vast majority of our programs are completely free.

- How many developed parks do you have?

- We have 16 developed parks all across Summit County, 14,000 acres.

- And how many miles of developed trails are there?

- About 150 miles of trail, including 22 miles of the Towpath trail.

- Now, do you have a horseback riding trails?

Is that included?

- We do have a couple of bridal trails.

The most popular ones are at Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton.

- And how many acres do you currently have?

And this would include conservation areas.

- Over 14,000 acres.

- Wow, how does that compare with other Metro Parks?

- We're a mid-size Metro Park in Ohio.

- Now we've talked about the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath.

How many miles of that trail do pass through the Metro Parks?

- 22 miles of the Towpath are managed by Summit Metro Parks.

- And do you have to go out and do grooming of the trails and that sort of thing?

- Yes, we're responsible for the maintenance of the trail in our section.

- And approximately how many visitors come to the park a year?

And do you have any idea of, I know we probably have a lot of local people, but do you have any idea of outside of our area people coming in?

- Sure, well, in a typical year we get about five million visits a year.

Last year in 2020 was a special year for a unique year I should say, lots of people were spending a lot more time outside.

So we had six million visits, which was an increase of 20%.

So were so grateful to be available for people as a place for them to go a respite, a place for them to take care of their mental and physical health during such a trying time.

And we're hoping that many of those folks may have found us for the first time and we'll continue to come back.

- So you have paid rangers, but you also have volunteer staff.

Is that how this works?

- That's yes, we have a established staff of employees and then we have about 400 registered volunteers who help us with everything you can think of.

They help us with staff events when we're going to events, which we, unfortunately haven't been able to do for a little while, but they help with Citizen Science Projects.

They're actually out there in the field helping our biologists collect data and do wildlife studies and that kind of thing.

We have volunteer photographers.

We have volunteers who help with our naturalist led programs with the public.

I mean, really there's an opportunity for everybody.

So if that is something that you're interested in, definitely visit our website.

We have some information there for people who are interested in volunteering.

- Well, thank you for that.

And I apologize.

I think I wanted to ask you about the publication Green Island.

Did I get to do that?

- I don't think so.

- Please we're almost done, can you do a quick review of that?

'Cause the publication is stunning.

- Sure, well thank you.

Absolutely, so for folks who are interested in staying up-to-date on the latest Summit Metro Parks information, we actually have two really good ways.

Well, I should say three, three good ways to keep in touch.

One is to sign up for our Green Islands Magazine, which is every other month publication that's mailed free to residents in Summit County.

So all you have to do is go on the website and sign up and you'll get that publication free.

It has all kinds of articles in it about nature and the parks.

And then it also has that listing of the dozens of free programs that we offer every month.

So that's a great way to stay in touch.

We also have an e-news that comes out monthly.

You can sign up for the website or sign up on the website for that as well.

So that'll be an email that you just get once a month that has the latest and greatest information.

And then the other thing is I would just really encourage folks to follow us on social media where on all the standard platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and that is a great way to stay in touch, see some beautiful nature photos, who doesn't wanna start their day with a beautiful sunrise photo or a beautiful picture of some wildlife.

So that's a great way to stay in touch with us as well.

- Well, thank you.

This has been a fantastic time and we're so happy for Centennial celebration and long may it last, and thank you so much for coming on today.

- Absolutely, thank you so much for having me.

- I wanna thank Stephanie Walton, Summit Metro Parks' Chief of Marketing and Communications for inviting us to participate in the Centennial celebration of the Summit Metro Parks.

Check out their websites summitmetroparks100.org to get listings of the activities, events, history, and the stories.

Join them in the celebration and go explore.

This program is brought to you by Forum 360.

To learn more about us, go to forum360.org.

I'm Pat Simons your host.

Thanks for joining me today and have a great day.

- [Narrator] Forum 360 is brought to you by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Akron Community Foundation, Hudson Community Television, The Rubber City Radio Group, Shaw Jewish Community Center of Akron, Blue Green, Electric Impulse Communications and Forum 360 Supporters.

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