Bendigo State Park offering free family programs

The Bendigo State Park is offering a set of free family programs coming up in the month of May.

The series of activities will begin on May 14 with the Story & Stroll program for kids ages three through seven and will be held from 10 a.m. through 11 a.m. The meeting location will be at Pavilion 1 prior to the start of these activities.

This happens to fall on the same day as Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day, which will be the main theme of the initiative.

This program will be led by a park educator who will read a birdthemed story and lead kids throughout the park area in search of different birds. If inclement weather persists on the day of the Story & Stroll program, crafts and other activities will be ongoing under Pavilion 1 at the park.

Additionally, there will be a Creatures of the Creek program on May 28, and a Fish for Free Day on May 29. The Creatures of the Creek program is geared towards older youth and will start at 11 a.m. This will involve investigating what invertebrates that live in our local creeks and rivers.

On the Fish for Free Day, no license will be required, but PA Boat & Fish Commission laws must be obeyed, according to the park, and fishing will be open from 11 a.m. through 2 p.m.

Matt Schenck, who is the Environmental Interpretive Technician for the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, spoke about the platform the parks provide for children and families alike.

“Our mission is to preserve and protect Pennsylvania’s state parks as a place for outdoor recreation and to also utilize the parks as an outdoor classroom for environmental education,” Schenck said. Schenck sees this as an excellent time for kids and their families to explore what Bendigo has to offer.

“We want to offer programs with park educators that can hit the mission of getting kids active outdoors, in the park, and learning along the way, and it’s a great opportunity for those families to spend time together,” he said.

To keep up to date with all of the activities going on at Bendigo State Park this summer, visits https://www. dcnr.pa.gov.

Photo submitted Bendigo State Park enjoys educating kids about the local outdoors and the activities involved in it. Pictured is a young boy learning about bucket stocking at Bendigo.