Oscar Scherer State Park Blog

Summer is here and it’s a great time to take advantage of everything the park has to offer!
Saturday morning starts with Kamper Coffee at 8 AM then the first of our award winning programs, Oscar’s Nature Detective at 9 AM followed by Elsa’s Fish Painting which is great fun for the whole family. The water in Lake Osprey is a perfect way to beat the heat, bring a picnic or BBQ and enjoy the park all day!
See you there.

J.T. Eldreth
Elsa’s Youth and Nature Program Coordinator

Prepare the trail today,
For children to be tomorrow’s environmental caretakers of our unique natural resource.
Florida State Parks…

Saturday June 5, 2010 was a banner day for The Friends of Oscar Scherer Park. 

Ribbon cutting for the new Lake Osprey Trail

A brand new trail was opened that features barrier free access to all.  Now, families with children in strollers, people in wheel chairs and those just wanting a easy stroll in the woods can hike in the woods.

The trail offers scenic views of Lake Osprey. There are  several benches along the way, picnic tables and opportuinities to see nature up close. 

Access to the trail is just behind the Nature Center, by the main parking lot.

Hello Friends
May 29th……. what a day at Oscar Scherer Nature Center…..
The Nature Center was a buzz all day long…….

Ranger Tony lead a group from Everglades Collage around the park, as they came back from their tour I think he was surprised by the size of our group for Elsa’s Fish Printing…. about 45…. 32 youth and lots of mom’s and dad’s ….
We had about 15 for Oscar’s Nature Detective which is a nice group size, more than that we see little wildlife……..

Will be having a booth next Saturday to promote Elsa’s Nature Programs for the opening of the Lake Osprey Trail, and to round up some new volunteers for nature programs.
I am making over 100 animal tracks to be given away, sticker on back with date of Lake Osprey Trail.

Much work has been done in preparation of this trail and it looks fabulous!

June 12th we were to have Paper Making and Fish Printing, but hit a little snag, instead we will have Oscar’s Nature Detective at 9:30 and Fish Printing at 11:30

Hope everyone has a great holiday.

J.T. Eldreth
Elsa’s Youth and Nature Program Coordinator

Prepare the trail today,
For children to be tomorrow’s environmental caretakers of our unique natural resource.
Florida State Parks…

The Friends of Oscar Scherer State Park Inc. are pleased to announce the the new Lake Osprey Trail will be officially opened on Saturday June 5, 2010.

Ceremonies are from 12:30 – 2:00 PM.  More Information here.

The trail is a pleasant walk around the lake and is ADA Compliant. Please join us for the Grand Opening.

This beautiful new trail was made possible by:

$50,000 donation by Lee Wetherington Homes
Donated Labor by Friends of Oscar Scherer Park, Inc.
Planning by the Florida Park Service
Additional donations by AmeriCorps
H&H Signs • Hazeltine Nurseries • Vineyard Graphics

Hello all just an update on Nature Programs at Oscar.

April 24^th was a happening day at the Lake Osprey Nature Center.

Elsa’s Nature Programs was the name of the game, with a record number for Fish Printing. The first class had 19 children, then a mother came in, a family reunion group from Tampa and ask if they could have a class. At 2:00 PM they started, 17 kids and about as many adults PLUS we had some of the seniors from Venice group painting as well. It was the most people I have seen at the Nature Center all interacting at one time for any program in the past.

I had a personal emergency Saturday and was unable to do the guided walk for Nature Detective … BUT… The Florida State Park Volunteer Of The Year, Russ Delaney lead the group thirsty for nature knowledge, on their return we gained a few more who wanted to paint the plaster bobcat tracks and view Oscar’s Nature Detectives slide show.

I would like to say thanks to all the year round volunteers such as Joyce, Ed and Diana who make our programs pop with their enthusiasm and effort.

Thank you Lynn and Lisa for coming back this summer to help with our programs!

This is the schedule for Saturdays Nature Programs in May.

May 1st    9:30   Paper Making & 11:30 Fish Printing
8th   9:30   Paper Making & 11:30 Fish Printing
15th  9:00  Nature Detective & 11:30 Fish Printing
22nd 9:30   Paper Making & 11:30 Fish Printing
29th  9:00  Nature Detective & 11:30 Fish Printing

J.T. Eldreth
Elsa’s Youth and Nature Program Coordinator

http://www.friendsofoscarscherer.com/html/just_for_kids.html

Prepare the trail today,
For children to be tomorrow’s environmental caretakers of our unique natural resource.
Florida State Parks…

Saturday was  a busy day at the old Nature Center as all three youth programs had a GREAT crowd. In the afternoon Barb and Pat had their hands full with over 14 for Scrubby’s Paper Making, while in the morning (not a record) we had 19 and 22 for Oscar’s Nature Detectives and Elsa’s Fish Printing. Many thanks to Anne and Ed for the help with the morning programs on Saturday.
Elsa’s Youth and Nature Programs will not take place next week, as the annual Kiwanis Club Youth Fishathon will be held at Lake Osprey from 8-1

J.T. Eldreth
Elsa’s Youth and Nature Program Coordinator

http://www.friendsofoscarscherer.com/html/just_for_kids.html

Prepare the trail today,
For children to be tomorrow’s environmental caretakers of our unique natural resource.
Florida State Parks…

This February event gets bigger every year and with the addition of the 10K run and a completely re-designed 5K run,  it was bigger than ever.  The new race course was developed by Race Director Gaylon Peters in cooperation with Park management and Jim Julian who certified it for the Manasota Track Club. This is the Friends’ main fund raiser of the year and the net proceeds of $11,662 exceeded all expectations. The continued supporting grant from The Lee Wetherington Foundation through the Sarasota Community Foundation was critical once again in achieving the financial goals of this event.

A summary of the results from the combined runs follows:

Total registered runners 607; estimated one-mile walkers ~100

5K runners 368 (61%)

10K runners 239 (39%)

Female runners 336 (55%)

Male runners 271 (45%)

48 runners from out of state (one each from Ontario, Germany, & Guam)

Oldest runner was 86; Youngest was 4

GAYLON  PETERS  AND  ALL  HIS  VOLUNTEER  HELPERS  DID  ONE  FANTASTIC  JOB  PUTTING  ON  THE  2010 SCRUB JAY  5/10 K   RACE – BE  SURE  TO  CLICK  ON  IT  AND  ENJOY – IT’S  A  TERRIFIC  VIDEO. THANKS   TO   ALL.

BOB SENDREY

Elsa’s Youth And Nature programs will not take place this weekend as we will be having the 7th annual Sarasota Folk Festival that will be held Saturday and Sunday, March 6 & 7, at Oscar Scherer State Park.
Programs will resume on the 13th of March.

Thank You
J.T. Eldreth
Elsa’s Youth and Nature Program Coordinator

http://www.friendsofoscarscherer.com/html/just_for_kids.html

Prepare the trail today,
For children to be tomorrow’s environmental caretakers of our unique natural resource.
Florida State Parks…