‘Batty’ good time at nature center

Children learn about bats, habitats Monday at Kiddie Craft Club

Children learned more about bats and made one of their own during a Halloween themed event presented Oct. 7 by the Lorain County Metro Parks.

“This is our Kiddie Craft Club that we hold once a month from September through May, so it’s during the school year,” said Aimee Potonic, senior naturalist and park manager with the Metro Parks.

The event was held at French Creek Nature Center, 4530 Colorado Ave., Sheffield Village.

“We usually have it geared toward preschoolers but we do get older siblings when schools have the day off,” she said. “It usually features me talking about the theme, today being bats, for a few minutes to provide some education, and then I have a craft they can do.”

Potonic said bats are a good subject to talk about because they are misunderstood.

“Bats are underestimated, they are great for pest control and seed dispersal,” she said. “We have 11 species of bats in Ohio, but we are losing habitats. It’s good to spread awareness, make sure people do not disturb habitats and give people more information on bats.”

Potonic said she looks for different ideas for the craft.

“Pinterest is a big help,” she said. “I use my kids as a gauge and think of what they would think is fun. The craft is basically making a flying bat with some craft sticks and a paper bat.”

Potonic also mentioned the Metro Parks’ upcoming Halloween Fair that will start Oct. 11 and run to the end of the month.

“It will be Fridays and Saturdays at Carlisle Reservation Visitor Center (12882 Diagonal Rd., Carlisle

Township) and will feature a lot of family-fun Halloween activities starting at 4:30 p.m.,” she said.

“We have train rides, food, costume contests on Fridays, and then we will have a spooky trail at 7 p.m. The trail will feature actors spooking people, but it will not have any touching or blood and gore,” she said. “We will also have our pumpkin lagoon which is a wet area that we flood with jack-o-lanterns. The fair is $3 per person and it’s free for kids 3 and under.”

Anthony Jacobs, of Lorain, brought his daughter, Eva, 6, to the event.

“The Metro Parks are pretty great,” he said. “Between this place and the libraries, there are a lot of fun, family programming in the area.”

ZACHARY SRNIS — THE MORNING JOURNAL Eva Jacobs, 6, of Lorain, makes a paper bat with help from her father, Anthony Jacobs, at French Creek Reservation in Sheffield Village.

ZACHARY SRNIS — THE MORNING JOURNAL Reese Sabin, 3, of Avon Lake, gets help from her nanny, Amy Vandenburge, of Sheffield Lake, with a craft at French Creek Nature Center.