Cleveland Metroparks (North Chagrin Nature Center)

The Cleveland Metroparks North Chagrin Nature Center will expand its Euclid Beach STEM Adventure program, which will include summer camp programs and year-round, out-of-school programs. The nature center will target youth from neighborhoods adjacent to the Park District’s Euclid Beach Park with a goal of immersing youth in the natural environment of Lake Erie. The project will support hiring a full-time naturalist educator and two seasonal naturalists. This project builds on a successful pilot, during which the center developed partnerships with the Greater Cleveland Foodbank to provide meals for participants, and the Collinwood Recreation Center and Cleveland Public Library for classroom space. The program will facilitate cross-disciplinary learning for over 1,200 local youth annually as they explore STEM topics through reading, recreation, and hands-on field activities and experiments that focus on Lake Erie, water quality, and local watersheds.