Grant Reports

Program Development Grant Reports

Adaptive Basketball Skills Camp  |  City of Grove City  |  February 2024
The Grove City Parks & Recreation Adaptive & Inclusive Department will hold a basketball skills camp that is designed for athletes with special needs ages 4 and older.  The camp features instruction by local high school basketball coaches and players, as well as local special education staff.  The camp promotes a fun, positive, and inclusive environment. This camp is free for all registered participants.

Freedom Chair (All-Terrain Wheelchair)  |  Licking Park District  |  February 2024
Licking Park District will purchase all-terrain wheelchairs for the public to rent at no cost.  This will help open up the world beyond the pavement for persons with lower body challenges.

Nature Adventure Day  |  Reynoldsburg Parks and Recreation  |  February 2024
Reynoldsburg Parks and Recreation has created a free event called Nature Adventure Day to educate the community on nature and initiatives of participating agencies and provide activities that may not be free and/or available at other times (ex. tree climbing).

Upgrading Streetsboro’s StoryWalk  |  Streetsboro Parks & Recreation  |  February 2024
Streetsboro Parks & Recreation Department, in partnership with Streetsboro Visitors & Convention Bureau, Portage County District Library, Friends of Streetsboro Library & Friends of Streetsboro Parks, are in the process if upgrading the department’s Mobile StoryWalk® program. The program brings children's books to life throughout the park system, with mobile signage that is relocated in various parks throughout the Streetsboro Park System on a bimonthly basis.

RecTalker- Wearable "Talker" for Inclusive Programs  |  City of Cuyahoga Falls  |  November 2022
The City of Cuyahoga Falls Parks and Recreation Department has conceptualized an innovative program assistive device that would allow us to offer a wearable talker, called a RecTalker, to any child or adult who attend our summer programs as a means of increased communication and inclusion into daily activities.  This individualized device would be created by purchasing wrist/arm bands intended for cell phones and instead inserting a laminated sheet with personalized icons for each individual, based on his/her needs and abilities. These specialized cards would include those icons applicable to our daily camp schedule and his/her personal needs. The ability to modify these cards as needed throughout the programming season, offers the highest level of accessibility to those individuals in need.

The Herbert & Patricia Wagers Memorial Park - Nature Preserve Programs  |  Preble County Park District  |  November 2022
The funds will assist Preble County Park District in bring the programs to Wagers Park much sooner than anticipated as well as assist them in bringing higher quality educators and programs to Wagners Memorial Park.  The programs will not only educate the surrounding community in their local natural environment, but will educated them on how they can help support and care for the wildlife within their community.

Cave Ecology Program  |  Erie MetroParks  |  July 2022
The Cave Ecology Program will consist of a lesson plan and an interactive artificial cave explorer experience, highlighting local bats and their habitats.  Funding will purchase the pieces to build the artificial cave and carryout an exciting educational program for youth and families.

Bike Safety Days  |  Park District of Ottawa County  |  July 2022
Bike Safety Day is a three hour cycling safety hands-on program designed for ages seven to twelve. The course includes several components including the importance of wearing a helmet, proper helmet fit, parts of a bike, basic bicycle repair and maintenance, bike maneuverability, hand signals, bell and/or voice signals, road riding safety, how to prepare for a bike ride, and proper nutrition for outdoor activities. In order to ensure participants will continue to have access to bike, each child will take home a bike and helmet that has been properly fitted. The program will be offered free of charge as a way to remove barriers and provide access to all children ages seven to twelve in Ottawa County.

Wild About Wetlands  |  City of Powell  |  July 2022
Wild About Wetlands is a proposed four month (May - August) nature event that will feature the new wetlands area at Seldom Seen Park in Powell, Ohio. Led by Mad Scientist Associates, LLC, Wild About Wetlands will give participants of all ages a hands on experience and educational information about maintaining and preserving our wetlands.

Art in the Parks Program  |  The Olander Park System  |  July 2021
This project connects northwest Ohio-area artists and regional scientists and conservationists with Sylvania Arts and TOPS in order to educate the public about the rare natural treasures in Sylvania, specifically the Oak Openings (OO) habitats found there.

Expanding Culinary Classes and Events  |  Washington Township RecPlex  |  July 2021
The grant funds will help purchase commercial equipment that can be used by cooks and bakers to prepare meals in-house and teach classes, such as Cooking for One, Fast and Healthy Meals, Holiday Desserts, and Mommy and Me intergenerational classes.

Youth eSports Program  |  Columbus Recreation and Parks  |  November 2020
The eSports program goals include teaching participants about leadership, team building, socialization, and providing an introduction to career opportunities within the eSports industry.

Paddle Seneca County  |  Seneca County Park District  |  November 2020
This grant will assist Seneca Parks with developing paddling programs for the citizens of Seneca County by providing part of the funding required to completely accomplish the purchase of sixteen kayaks and the corresponding kayak paddles and personal flotation devices (PFDs, aka life jackets) for safety while floating.   The Seneca Parks will also need to purchase a kayak trailer to transport these units from the park to the access points along the Sandusky Scenic River.

Community Computers Program  |  Steubenville Parks and Recreation  |  July 2020
This grant will help purchase three new computers for the new Youth Center at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center in Steubenville.  This purchase will help make the internet more accessible to lower income residents.

Conservation Club  |  Erie MetroParks  |  January 2020
The Conservation Club is a monthly type of program geared towards the underserved students in grades 8-12. This program will offer interested students an opportunity for hands-on conservation experience.

Green Space Management Program  |  Miamisburg Parks & Recreation  |  January 2020
Miamisburg Parks & Recreation is committed to publicizing a pollinator project that eliminates maintenance costs while preserving pollinator health and environments. This program will help to increase awareness about declining pollinator populations and the important role of habitat restoration. This initiative will sustain far past the phase of publicizing and continue to accommodate pollinator and resource management needs for a better future.

Game of Life Program  |  Cincinnati Recreation Commission  |  July 2019
This program will focus on developing and strengthening essential life skills for individuals with disabilities. Life skills include daily living activities such as dressing, eating and bathing as well as recreation and leisure. These skills are essential to living an independent life and can boost the quality to life of the individual living with a disability as well as those around them. Another objective is to promote not only independence in daily living, but to also develop self-confidence for the individual.

Dock Structure for Outdoor Education Program  |  First Presbyterian Church of Nelsonville  |  July 2019
A permanent dock element will be installed in the existing land lab and will expand the value and opportunity for environmental observation and learning for the over 900 elementary school children who visit each year from the five area schools. Specific programming to include bird watching, aquatic ecology, botany and etymology will be developed as a result of this fixture.

OhioBio: Can You Survive the Tale? Program  |  Stark County Park District  |  July 2019
To create an interactive experience to enhance existing exhibitry in the Congressman Ralph Regula Canalway Center and educate the public of local natural history in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

Grounded and Growing  |  Five Rivers MetroParks  |  January 2019
Empowering youth to engage in community hunger initiatives while taking control of their own health and wellness through growing, cooking and sharing fresh food.

Backpack Explorer Program  |  Erie MetroParks  |  July 2018
Erie MetroParks' staff will lead nature hikes for students in grades 3-8 enrolled in the Perkins School District and in the City of Sandusky at various MetroParks and encourage the students to use the items in the backpack to explore.

Stand Up Paddleboard Rental Program  |  The Olander Park System  |  July 2018
This new rental program will help boost participation in water activities and help to modernize and reinvigorate the boat rental business on Olander Lake.

New Programs for the John M. Coyne Recreation Center  |  Brooklyn Recreation Center  |  January 2018
The need for new programs for adults, children and senior citizens is critical to the well-being for their patrons.  With new programming, they hope to establish more healthy and active lifestyles for a bigger group of people.

Families on the Move F.A.N. Club  |  City of Groveport  |  July 2017
The mission of F.A.N. Club is to help integrate fitness and nutrition curriculum to improve the health and well-being of children.

The Embers Program  |  Ohio University  |  July 2017
The primary objective of The Embers Program is to provide an outdoor, adventure program that engaged youth in nature and their surrounding community through first hand experiences.

Mobile Archery Range  |  Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Park District  |  January 2017
This program will become a mobile unit and will provide archery instruction to summer camp programs as well as multi-generational programming.

Youth Skateboarding Camp  |  Canton Parks & Recreation  |  January 2017
This program will provide a low-cost, developmental summer skateboarding camp to inner-city children in their skate park.

Horse-Drawn Carriage Holiday Ride  |  Canton Parks & Recreation  |  July 2016
To provide a low-cost horse-drawn carriage ride program to inner-city residents during the Holidays, who traditionally would not have access to such an event, while also being able to build upon the success of the department’s annual holiday light up in Stadium Park.

Great Miami River Recreation Trail Ambassador Program  |  MetroParks of Butler County  |  January 2016
MetroParks of Butler County received a $1500 grant to help establish an ambassador program comprised of volunteers and managed by Metro Parks staff, to monitor the 9-mile section of the GMRRT that is managed by MetroParks.

Research Grant Reports

A New Age of Natural Resource Management: (Re)envisioning the role of national parks in the U.S.  |  The Ohio State University  |  July 2021
The research is a broad study aimed at exploring the dynamics between Indigenous populations, public lands, and natural resource management (NRM) in the United States. By examining national park management plans, also known as foundation documents, this research will promote more inclusive management and ultimately set a precedent for state and local public lands.

Connect2 Software  |  Macedonia Parks and Recreation  |  November 2020
The purchase of this software will help the City to efficiently track and collect data that helps lead to decision making as it pertains to operations, classes, and facility staffing. This system will be utilized as a hub of information collection which will be used in daily operations and information contained shall provide ease of access to all staff and create quick data through reporting software.

Effectiveness of Day Camp Staff Training on Preparedness to Provide Inclusive Camp Experiences for Children with Disabilities  |  Kent State University  |  January 2019
The purpose of this study is to develop and test the effectiveness of training content and materials to prepare summer day camp staff to include children with disabilities in summer day camps.

Community Running Clubs' Use of Public Spaces:  An Analysis of the Psychology, Behaviors, and Outcomes of Long-Distance Running  |  Ohio State University  |  January 2018
The primary objective of the project is to identify the determinants of physical activity and persistence within community running clubs to promote sustained physical activity across the lifespan.

Common Sense Coyote  |  National Trail Parks and Recreation District  |  January 2015
Human and coyote interactions have sizably increased over the past few years in the western and eastern portions of the United States. These increased, sometime negative interactions have caused many public agencies to develop co-existence, educational and management programs. Even though National Trail, our region and Ohio currently has not seen this level of negative interactions to force programs of this nature to be developed, we are proactively working to educate the public in Clark County prior to any of these issues occurring. National Trail Parks & Recreation District and Wittenberg University have partnered to implement Common Sense Coyote, a public information and monitoring program. Common Sense Coyote will provide the tools for our residents of Clark County to safely co-exist and provide a better understanding of the coyote population and behavior in Clark County, allowing for safe interactions and practices to become common sense.

Economic Impact of Trails Study |  MORPC |  2014
In 2014, MORPC, along with the cities of Columbus, Hilliard, New Albany, Westerville, and Canal Winchester, and Franklin County Metro Parks, Ohio Parks and Recreation Association, and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, hired the University of Minnesota to conduct an Impacts of Trails Study for Central Ohio.

The study was finalized in June 2015 and focused on five main tasks: trail usage, trail user profiles, community and business leader feedback, property value analyses along trails, and cost analyses. A steering committee made up of the above mentioned communities and organizations advised the project.

The Impacts of Trails study may likely be the first of its kind in the nation to analyze an entire regional trail system, not just individual trails, and to holistically look at the various components that impact and could be impacted by trail development.

The Economic Benefits of Clean Ohio Fund Conservation |  The Trust for Public Land  |  2013
The Trust for Public Land conducted an economic analysis of the return on Ohio’s investment in land conservation through the Clean Ohio Fund and found that every $1 invested in land conservation returned $4 in natural goods and services to the Ohio economy. Additionally, projects funded through the program provide a multitude of economic benefits to the people, communities, and business of the state in the form

of jobs, tourism and visitor spending, tax revenue, enhanced property values, agricultural output, quality of life, and others.

Administrative Grant Reports

Pool Staff Training Project  |  Athens Arts, Parks and Recreation  |  February 2024
Athens Arts, Parks and Recreation will use the grant funding to provide necessary training for their 2024 pool staff, such as, lifeguard training, Water Safety Instructor training, CPR/First Aid training, Lifeguard Management training, and Aquatics Facility Operator course.  Working at the City of Athens pool gives these staff a strong set of foundational work skills that are sure to be used in their future, in any area of work.

Marketing and Branding of Grove City Adaptive and Inclusive Program  |  City of Grove City  |  February 2024
Develop a program branding and marketing campaign to that will provide awareness in the community that newer programs are being offered for the populations served through adaptive and inclusion programming, increase participation in the programs, and foster ideas and evaluation from the community.

Powell Parks and Recreation Playground Communication Boards  |  City of Powell  |  February 2024
To fund two communication boards that will be located at Village Green Park and Adventure Park in Powell. The communication boards will encourage interactions with peers, enhance accessibility, and increase safety for those who may communicate or express themselves differently, or speak a diverse language. By pointing to the pictures on the communication sign, individuals can clearly state their intended message free of frustration or misinterpretation.

The Herbert & Patricia Wagers' Devil's Backbone Memorial Park - Promotional Video  |  Preble County Park District  |  February 2024
The Preble County Park District’s (PCPD) foremost need is raising awareness.  By creating this promotional video, PCPD will achieve a greater degree of awareness in their community as well as receive more donations, participation at events and programs, and visitations to parks and trails.

Combined Agency Future Vision Planning  |  Clark County Park District and National Trail Parks and Recreation District  |  November 2022
For nearly 12 years, members of the community have been studying the possibility of combining the two parks and recreation agencies that serve Clark County.  As the two agencies gradually merge, they want to gather public input from community members, stakeholders, and local partners to develop a Future Vision Plan that will guide the agencies and all them to reach goals and aspirations for the combined agency.

Nature Preserve Postcards Books  |  Columbus Recreation and Parks  |  July 2022
The City of Columbus nature preserves are the only city nature preserve system in the state.  A major tenet of the nature preserves program is advocating conservation, protection, and enhancement through awareness and education. Funding will go toward updating and printing Columbus Nature Preserve Postcard Books. The postcard books are the main source of community outreach used to increase awareness of the nature preserve system.

Interpretive Sign Design Internship  |  Outdoor Sylvania Community Parks  |  July 2022
The grant will help fund an internship for a local art student to design the interpretive signs for the park district.  The goals for this project are to provide our community with quality context in which to experience their parks. Understanding the ecological, and historical backgrounds of our parks will increase visitor’s understanding of the value of parks to their well-being.

PCPD Promotional Marketing-Digital Sign  |  Preble County Park District  |  July 2021
Funds will purchase a digital sign to increase the local community’s awareness of the park and programs. The sign will be located on a well-traveled highway at the Garber Nature Center and Offices. With the new promotional video, website, and new sign, Preble anticipates added benefits of increased community visitation, volunteering, participation in programs, and donations.

PCPD Promotional Marketing Videos  |  Preble County Park District  |  July 2020
Professional promotional marketing videos will bring the park district success in achieving a greater degree of awareness in the community as well as more donations, participation at events and programs and visitations to parks and trails.

Marketing Plan  |  Gahanna Parks & Recreation  |  January 2020
The Marketing Plan will help the department outline the external marketing and communications processes, as well as their overall goals to engage Gahanna citizens in the department's programs, events and  activities.

Performance Management Training |  Metroparks Toledo  |  January 2019
The training will create a performance management system that supports supervisors in their efforts to build a high-performance culture, drives accountability and rewards high levels of performance and positive behavior.

Lifeguard/Waterfront Safety Instructor Training  |  The Olander Park System  |  July 2018
The objective of this grant is to improve the ability of TOPS to properly staff the beach and swim area at Lake Olander with lifeguards who are trained and certified as Red Cross Lifeguards with the additional Waterfront Skills certification.

Metroparks Comprehensive Master Planning Process  |  Ashtabula County Metroparks |  January 2018
The purpose of the plan is to develop a community-supported plan that provides guidance to Ashtabula County Metroparks over the next 10 years for improving and operating existing and future parks and trails and providing opportunities for appropriate public use and enjoyment.

Park Ranger Outreach  |  Whitehall Parks and Recreation Department  |  July 2017
This program will help expand the roles of Whitehall's Rangers by offering targeted outreach programs to the City's youth and families.

Parks Communications Project  |  Ashtabula County Metroparks |  January 2017
This project will provide necessary tools to allow prospective park users to enjoy newly opening parks in the Metropark system.

Emergency COVID-19 Grant Reports

Nineteen OPRA member agencies received emergency grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 for programs designed to assist communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants helped to cover costs for new programs which have been developed in response to the pandemic.

Click here to read a compilation of the final grant reports.

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