Announcer: The views and opinions expressed in to the point are those of the hosted, the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of WG public media.

Doni: If you want to have a simply amazing time and you don't think about the Metropark systems first, I guarantee you that after today's show that will change.

There is tree climbing, there's camping, there's fishing, there's even forest therapy.

To talk to us about this.

Today we have Scott Carpenter.

Welcome to the Point.

Take a minute and join the conversation on our social media pages.

If you'd like to contact me through email, please do that at doni _miller@wgte.org.

And finally, for previous episodes, you may also go to wgte.org.

Today, though, I'd like to get right to our guest Scott Carpenter from the Toledo Metroparks Thank you so much for joining us.

Scott: Thank you for.

Having.

Me.

Doni: I am so excited about this conversation because I don't think people understand exactly the GM that the Metroparks are.

But you're going to tell us all about it.

Scott: I'm going to try.

All right.

Thank you for saying so.

Doni: So the scope of the park, I mean, everybody can name one park, right?

But folks would be stunned to understand how big that system really is.

Scott: And I think that's the keyword system.

So we do all have our park.

You know, I grew up by Pearson Metro Park out in Oregon.

Wildwood is best known to most people probably, but there are 19 parks and 19.

Yeah, including I'll bet some that that most people have not yet been to and it is a system so you know, when you go to a metro park, there are certain standards even though each one has its own unique features, you can always count on a welcoming place with trails and are sparkling clean restrooms and picnic shelters.

So there's a set standard throughout the system, plus all kinds of really interesting and unique features at each to explore rain.

Doni: Right?

You know, this is really silly, but I walk my dog all the time.

The water fountains for dogs.

Terrific.

I do.

Scott: They are very popular.

We have to turn them off in the winter.

So they don't they don't freeze.

Freeze.

But yeah, they're very popular.

And, you know, walking your dog is a, you know, healthy for you and your dog.

And one of the one of the most popular activities in the metro parks.

Doni: So, you know, one of the things that that I was really impressed with was this vision that you guys have for having a metro park accessible within five miles of every household in the county or the city in the county.

Yeah.

How did you decide that that would be your metro?

Scott: You know, it's been a long term goal, I'm told before I've been I've been with the park system for 25 years.

So predating me, they had talked about that.

That's kind of always been the dream.

And we were able to achieve that in 2020, during the pandemic, working from home, we opened three new parks and completed that promise to the community.

And I think that's it's such a game changer.

It's so different.

There were nine parks when I started here in 1997.

There are 19 today.

Oh, my gosh.

And we were in the, you know, surrounding suburbs.

The only park in the city of Toledo, our biggest population center was one creek preserve in South Toledo.

And it's and so now we have parks more equitably spaced across the county where everybody has access to nature.

Doni: Yeah, and we were talking a little bit before this show just about the benefits of the park.

You knew a study.

You said that there was a study that talked about the benefits.

Scott: Yeah.

Well, we've always known as we were talking earlier, I think we've always known intuitively that it was that being outdoors is good for you.

Our moms told us to go outside and play for a reason because it makes sense.

There is now a lot of study, there are a lot of studies that support that.

That really is true.

It's good for us physically, but also our emotional and mental well-being.

Yeah, which is so important.

And that's why also that it's so important to have a park nearby for everybody so that we because we all have a right to enjoy nature, we feel, and because of all of the benefits that nature provides.

Doni: Yeah.

And you know, the other thing too is that your work fits so well with all of the discussions these days about conserving conservation and preservation.

And it just the whole idea of taking care of the environment and that that's an intentional.

Scott: Very much so.

You know, if you look up the definition of a park, it's a public greenspace used for recreation, and we certainly are that.

But think of our public green spaces for recreation being in surrounded by nature preserves, and that's a metro park.

So we have both 80% of the land that we own is for conservation, for managing and nurturing natural areas like woods and prairies and wetlands that are so important to our to having clean air or clean water, wildlife habitat and many other benefits.

And then within those parks, we have these active areas where that 20% that and they intermingle using trails.

So you may be going to a playground or playing tennis at Pearson or pickleball, but you're also enjoying the benefits of nature because you're you're, you're nestled in this nature preserve in our, you know, we trick you a little bit.

We want to suck you in the nature and enjoy it, because we know that if you learn that, if you if you experience that, you're really going to like it.

And if it if you love nature, you're going to take care of it.

And that's the bigger picture for us.

Doni: That's right.

And the other thing about your mission is that it's so expansive in terms of the way it's designed to have an impact on the community on so many different levels.

I think that everyone was stunned in and, you know, just so amazed at the at the construction downtown on the riverfront and to know that that was actually yours was actually yours.

Scott: Yeah.

So a glass City Metro Park is new and we've just begun construction of Glass City River Walk.

And I'm sure we'll talk more about that.

But yeah, you know, looking at we've been talking for decades about what to do with our riverfront and looking around the country.

Honestly, we said we can do better than what other towns are doing.

So we have we are setting out to create the best riverfront park in the country.

It'll be a glass city.

River walk will be five mile stretch down along both sides of the Miami River from the veterans Glass City Skyway to the Anthony Wayne Bridge.

And the first the hub of that will be Glass City Metro Park, which is has been partially open since 2020 and in 2023 will be fully opened with some unique play areas and an ice skating ribbon in the winter that can be used for roller skating and other purposes in the summer.

Doni: What's an ice skating ribbon?

Scott: So we and we we've called it we've named it the Ribbon at Glass City.

It's a thousand foot long ice skating trail that has some some topography to it, you know, gently rolled, some gentle rolls to it.

And banks and is laid out in the form of a ribbon.

And then it also has a 5000 square foot ice rink attached to it.

And sits next to a building that will house a restaurant.

So it will be a year round destination.

So we're building a park for year round use here in cold northwest Ohio.

Doni: That is amazing.

Scott: It's it is amazing.

It's amazing to us to see it all come together.

Doni: This is part of a larger construction plan for you guys.

It was in Do I have this right?

There's like a ten year plan.

Scott: Yeah.

So we've kind of I kind of think of Metro Parks and chapters and, you know, 2020 when we opened that last park, that place, the park within five miles, that was that was the end of one chapter, the beginning and the beginning of the next, because we were already we already had the first part of Glass City Metro Park and the rest was already planned.

So for the next over the next ten years, we will be improving all of the metro parks, extending trails wherever possible, connecting parks to parks, using trails, reaching out to to people, to connect people with parks, and at the same time continuing to build out this Glass City Riverwalk to enhance our East Side and downtown of the river and River Walk will connect six different neighborhoods, as well as many of the major attractions and businesses in downtown Toledo.

Doni: Mhm.

Ten year plan though, huh?

Scott: Yeah.

So it's and we're into it already.

So we're a couple of years into that ten year plan which is, has been supported very generously by the, by the Lucas County taxpayers and voted upon.

And I just can't wait for them to see it all come together because in pieces it's impressive but all together it's, I think this is me talking.

I think this could be a game changer.

Doni: For I think you're absolutely right.

And already the concert venue downtown is getting a ton of use.

Scott: Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

The River Walk will tie together some of those great existing spaces, like the city's Promenade Park, the medical program of concerts and Imagination Station, the corporate campuses of Promedica and Owens Corning.

And then we'll extend also into the Vistula neighborhood or Toledo's first neighborhood, where there's some exciting things already happening by private investors.

Doni: Let's talk about that a little bit, because that is certainly an unusual kind of partnership for parks around the country to actually partner with neighbors.

Scott: Yeah, we make these connections with neighbors.

And I mean, this is a large project, about half of which is publicly funded.

The rest is coming from donors, many corporate donors, individuals, some federal and state grants.

We also expect to see an enormous return for our taxpayer investment.

For example, phase one of Glass City Metropark.

I think we invested ten or ten or $11 million and at the same time we were building that a Columbus developer was investing $50 million to build market rate apartments and a restaurant right on the kind of on the corner of Front and Main Street right next to the park.

And he he said that the reason that he was building it was because of the park, because they go they go together.

It makes his property more attractive.

We hope to replicate that all the way around Glass City Riverwalk so that the return to the taxpayers is far greater than what we've invested.

That's really amazing.

That's amazing.

We are going to go to a break right now.

Okay.

When we come back, I'd like to start I'd like to talk about some of the many, many services that you have available and activities that you have available.

Okay, great.

You'll stay with me.

All right.

Well, all right.

We'll be right back.

Announcer: It's out with the old and with the new watch.

Listen and learn with our new reimagined website with new features to make your listening experience better.

It's easier than ever before to find your favorite programs stream or watch your favorite shows live from all our channels.

W GTA, HD, W, DTV, Create and PBS kids.

You can even stream or listen live to your favorite podcasts and radio programs with ease.

Discover educational and learning Resources for parents, caregivers, and educators.

Our new website gives you everything right at your fingertips.

These features are also available on our new WPT app found in your App store.

Watch, listen and learn at WG doors.

Doni: Again, if you'd like to join the conversation, please do so by taking a look at our social media pages.

If you'd like to contact me, you can do that by going to doni _miller@wgte.org And if you'd like to see previous episodes, you can also go to wgte.org.

We have the pleasure today of talking to Scott Carpenter about the amazing Metro Parks.

And I want to mention to you too, if you take a look at the the pictures behind me, great, great pictures of what actually goes on at the Metro parks, what kinds of things.

Take a look at that kayak, You know.

Scott: So this was making me smile.

Doni: I know.

I know.

So wonderful activities available, cost of cost affordable for folks.

Scott: Yeah.

We have many free programs and we try to keep the cost is very affordable for those that do.

Our pricing philosophy is kind of the parks are open for free and the higher the personal benefit like if you're renting a tree house to spend a night or you're participating in our tree climbing programs, we're going to charge a fee for that.

So so I think you'll.

Doni: Find yeah, I just want to say folks need to know that these are real houses in tree.

Scott: Tree houses are are they are real houses in trees.

Yeah.

They're, they're, they're not the trial she had in the backyard when you were a child.

These are very nice out at oak openings but those are also those those that's how we think of it in terms of experiences, whether it's staying in a treehouse overnight and in the winter last, my wife and I did with our our oldest grandson or climb doing tree climbing with safety harnesses and trained staff to show you how kayaking which is so popular bicycling on our mountain bike trail movement.

You know we have to keep it fresh.

And, you know, these days we're competing with all these screens that are so appealing to all of us.

And, you know, to pull hopefully pull people, especially kids, away from those to get outside and experience nature.

Doni: Yeah.

And it's so important to have kids experience nature.

It works.

It causes their imagination to work.

It gives them more personal energy.

And you guys have all kinds of programs, even with the school systems.

Scott: I understand we do you I think my favorite program to watch is called Toddler Trails and it's Little Preschoolers that are venturing out on a trail and off.

There's 12 of them you can guarantee.

I guarantee you they're going to go in 12 different directions.

And I just laughed the whole time.

But that's the whole point is for them to experiment and pick up sticks and rocks and turn over logs, that's that's what it's all about.

Right?

So and every all of our other programs is really built on that same idea.

We might have to make it a little more adventuresome for us as we all, you know, become adults and do things like tree climbing, which is which scares me because I'm afraid of heights.

Kayaking, like I said, is really popular right now.

Some activities like kayaking and bicycling.

I found us in a way because they are so popular spot and during COVID, during that period, they they became even more so.

So people seek us out for those things.

And but I don't know if people saw things like tree, tree climbing, coming.

Doni: Rain.

Scott: Rock climbing.

We have a portable rock climbing wall.

Doni: Yeah.

And that's you know, there are so many benefits to engaging in these activities.

And it's amazing that you guys can actually bring those activities to neighborhoods where kids might not otherwise have access to to that particular type of that particular type of fun.

I have to ask you this, though.

What is forest therapy?

Scott: Forest therapy.

So we have a master naturalist on our staff who who does horse therapy.

And it's a it's it's about relaxing in nature and kind of soaking up the benefits of being surrounded by nature.

And she takes she'll take a small group or a program out into into a nice spot in the woods and just for some calm time and of relaxation, you can you can feel your anxiety leaving you and and just just appreciating what what nature does for for our mood for, you know, our emotions, our mental health as well as our physical health.

Doni: That sounds like a really great program.

The other thing that I found interesting and wonderful when I was doing my research is if people are going to actually take their personal activities to the metroparks for weddings or botanist or whatever, you have.

A Yeah, and the capability of renting space for those things.

Scott: We do have rental facilities like from outdoor picnic shelters to the new pavilion at Glass City, which is this really beautiful glass building.

I mentioned Treehouses, the manor house at Wildwood, which came with the properties of our little 30,000 square foot mansion.

You can rent rooms there or the entire house to have your wedding.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

So, you know, you can make your own memorable experiences and people are all the time telling me they got engaged or they got married in one of the parks or their annual church picnic is one of their earliest memories.

And that's that's what it's all about.

Know, we've got a really, you know, built in marketing for the metroparks because we're in most people's family albums, you know, and they get handed down and that's what it's, that's, that's the whole idea is to make memorable experiences, whether we're directing them or yourself.

Directing them.

Doni: Yeah.

The the how do people actually become involved?

Those folks who want to help, those people who say, you know, you give back so much to us, how how do we help you other than the Levys We have.

Scott: Yeah, the taxpayers have been very generous to Metroparks and we don't we never take that for granted.

People do like to to give.

And we have a membership program where we ask people, why do you become a member?

Because admission to the park is already free.

You do get some discounts, but most people say they want to be a member to support Metroparks.

So it's another way to be able to do that.

And then volunteers, so have people who volunteer once, students who will come out from the university for a spring clean up.

And we have people like our volunteer trail patrol who sign on for 50 hours a year to walk the trails with their yellow t shirts or t shirts or sweatshirts on giving customer service to other park visitors.

So we have a whole gamut of volunteers.

Some work in our office.

We've had volunteers answering our phones, leading nature walks, helping out in our summer camps.

We have a junior like a junior and junior camp counselor, kind of counselor and training program for for teens to be who are not yet old enough to have a job, perhaps, but can come in and be camp counselors.

Doni: What does that mean?

What do those teams do.

Scott: At our summer?

So we do have a summer camp program, a couple of different ones where we have other team.

You know, we have teams that are helping as camp counselors and helping lead activities for four little ones.

We have a really neat program supported by our members actually called Connections Camp, where we can we make sure that no child does not shut out of summer camp for financial reasons.

So and I think we had 700 children go through Connections camp last year in addition to our other summer camps.

So again, early, you know, significant memories for kids and and hopefully that means something to them and they'll come back and and keep enjoying nature their whole life.

Doni: Yeah.

And I was actually thinking the reason I ask you that question was I was thinking what a great way to influence life choices.

You get those kids involved in that camp experience early on, exposure to all kinds of things that maybe they wouldn't otherwise have exposure.

Yeah.

To what?

Scott: Ages are all ages from preschool into the teens.

You can you can come to our summer camps and they you know, we have age appropriate, appropriate activities.

So kids will even pretty young kids will get out in canoes or kayaks and climb.

And many of our camps get to visit and explore the treehouses and things like that.

And then in addition to crafts and songs and the other things that little ones like to do.

Doni: Yeah, we only have a couple of minutes left and I have two things that I would like to ask you very quickly.

For people who think that you guys don't carry any weight nationally, they need to know that you won the most prestigious award in the nation in 2020 and tell you about that.

Scott: It's called the National Gold Medal Award.

And it's a couple of different associations, including the National Recreation and Park Associations, the association that come together and award a gold medal in the small park and large park system categories every year.

We were about as small as you can be and be in the large park category, Park district category.

And yeah, we're fortunate enough to win the National Gold Medal award.

Doni: That's amazing.

That's amazing.

Congratulations to everybody over there.

That's quite an achievement.

And one final thing, people who are interested in connecting with you for school programs or volunteering or any of those other kinds of things, how would they do that?

And is there a timeframe in which they should do that?

Scott: Metroparks Toledo dot com is a great starting place and in beyond the home page, if you dig, you know, in the in the menus you can find lots of activities and opportunities to volunteer to contribute in other ways.

And if you're stuck, if you're stuck, you don't see what you want.

There's a contact button at the bottom and that'll come to me and I will get you where you need to go.

Doni: That is great information.

And we should tell people that for activities like the Treehouse rentals.

Scott: You might want to start about a year out.

Doni: A year out, right.

There isn't.

There is a a long, long waiting list for that.

And what about for teachers who'd like to have their kids involved?

Scott: Yeah, that's that's wonderful.

We do have a ways that you can help.

We can work together on interesting programs or even design a special program for you.

So there is a way to to do that on our website in Variety.

We'd love to do that.

Doni: Thank you so, so much for joining us this morning.

Today.

We are so happy to have you.

And you'll come back, right?

Absolutely.

All right.

It is so important that you remember that the metroparks are here for you.

The benefits are amazing, not just in terms of your own mental health and your own fun, but the exposure that you can give to your community and to the kids.

And it could really be life changing.

I'm so glad that you had an opportunity to join us today and we want you to join us next time as well.

On to the point.

Announcer: The views and opinions expressed in to the point are those of the hosted, the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of WG Public Media.

This program was made possible in part by viewers like you.