NEWS

On a summer day in a park, it is impossible not to encounter bugs.

On Saturday at Mill Creek Park, the bugs were not a nuisance but welcomed guests for “Bug Day” at the Ford Nature Center.

Park educator Lynn Zocolo, of Salem, said besides being a free event for the whole family, it is packed with information.

“We point out the good in the creepy crawlers as well as the invasive species. It’s a chance to learn about our environment. Bugs are part of our everyday life,” Zocolo said.

Educational manager Cindy Fernback added, “Bugs are maligned. I like to present them in a better light as an important part of our ecosystem. They’re the first creatures kids tend to notice so it makes a great meeting place for kids and nature.”

Fernback, of Boardman, noted that being outside is important for our mental health.

“Trees relax our nervous system. A little time in nature is what kids all need,” she said.

Volunteer Katie Shipka, of Austintown, is a naturalist through The Ohio State University Extension. She displayed a monarch caterpillar on a milkweed plant. She explained this is the only type of leaf it will eat, which is why “more people are realizing the importance of milkweed.”

Don Kovach of Youngstown is a member of the Columbiana Mahoning Beekeepers Association. He brought a beehive to educate people on how important pollinators are to our food.

“Without pollinators, we’d be eating nothing but corn and wheat pollinated by the wind,” he said.

Beekeeper Lori Mowad of Poland sat nearby and gave out samples of various types of honey, including tupelo, wildflower and orange blossom.

Mark Berman of Columbus is known as The BugMan. He set out a long table with newts, worms and spiders. He said he likes dispelling “misconceptions and preconceptions,” including the false belief that spiders bite people. He said this almost never happens and when someone thinks they received a spider bite, it is usually something else.

In addition to the presenters were craft tables, a snack station and a photo wall complete with butterfly costumes. A pop-up library van was on hand to lend books about bugs and other subjects. “Bug hunts,” as well as forest walks with pictures of “good bugs” and “bad bugs” got children moving and exploring.

In addition, a trolley took people on a park excursion to Slippery Rock, the flower wall, the Lily Pond and Bears Den.

Boardman resident Allison Larson, 18, said, “I’m OK with bugs as long as they’re not near me.” But when she and her sister Jocelyn, 11, held a tarantula as big as their hands, she had to admit, “This was pretty cool.”

Berman said the word “respect” comes from Latin and means to “look again.”

“When we stop running and screaming and look again, we realize we live in a really cool world, not a scary world,” he said.

Read more at The Vindicator.