Parks program provides children outdoor opportunities

The Monroe County Parks and Recreation Department has collaborated with Girls Inc. and the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington to host the VINE program, an outdoor education and adventure course for local children.\n"The VINE program offers kids the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities which include collecting and matching different types of leaves, arts and crafts projects and examining critters that they find in the dirt and grass," said Cathy Meyer, naturist at the Monroe County Parks and Recreation Department. "It's a chance to appreciate nature, learn what it's like to be excited about the outdoors and become a good observer."\nThe VINE program began Tuesday and is held at three different sites for four weeks every Tuesday and Thursday for elementary school children. At each location, student volunteers supervise the children and lead group activities. Many of the volunteers are education, biology and HPER majors who hope to gain knowledge in their fields. \n"In addition to becoming active in the community, the experience also helps volunteers' transition from being a student to being an authority figure who children really admire," said Sarah Ward, unit director at the Boys and Girls Club.\nMeyer said although the children enjoy the games and activities, they value their time spent with volunteers the most. The volunteers often begin working for the children's community agencies after the VINE program ends.\n"I help the kids work as a team to complete fun and simple outdoor activities," VINE leader Nicole Ary said. "They really thrive on the one-on-one attention and I know that I will learn as much from them as they learn from me."\nOver the course of the program, the children will have an opportunity to participate in several different activities including the popular "plant hunts," which involve searching through the grass for different leaves and weeds, deciding which possess similar and different characteristics. \n"The "caterpillar race" is a lot of fun because everyone drops their animals on the ground and whoever's crosses the line first wins," said Robert Arthur, a 12-year-old member of the Boys and Girls Club. "Mine won because it was a Scorpion."\nOther educational games include "isotopes," "litter critters" and "rolly pollies." Leaders said the children are excited at keeping their magnifying glasses at the end of the four weeks, so they can continue the adventures in their own backyards.\n"The kids respond very well to the program," Meyer said. "They especially love playing the 'I spy' games and running around in the mud wearing little yellow ponchos when it rains."\nThe primary goals in the program are to encourage imagination, communication and small group activities among the children. Each activity serves an educational purpose and helps children apply the concepts to their own lives.\n"Kids learn interesting facts about the things they take for granted everyday," Ward said. "It's an adventure for them to discover mysteries and observe the neat things that are going on outdoors."\nMeyer said that in the past four years, the program has been a huge success for both the children and volunteers. She said she hopes to incorporate new games and ideas into future VINE programs to benefit participants such as Arthur.\n"I can't wait until it starts again because we will do a lot of fun things like look at flowers and all different kinds of bugs," Arthur said.\nVolunteers interested in participating in the spring VINE program must be reliable individuals who enjoy the outdoors and working with children.\n"I learned so many things about nature and the outdoors," Ary said. "I also had the wonderful opportunity to work with such amazing children."\nThose interested in volunteering for the spring VINE program should contact Cathy Meyer by calling 349-2805 or via e-mail at cmeyer@co.monroe.in.us.