Crawford County Now reports that the Crawford Park District released its October schedule. The lineup includes outdoor education, seasonal family activities and volunteer work at county parks.
The district's events begin Oct. 15 at 5:30 p.m. with a Fall Fungus Foray at Heckert Nature Preserve, 1601 State Route 19. A guided walk will focus on mushrooms, shelf fungi, puffballs and other woodland decomposers, along with their ecosystem roles and identification basics.
On Oct. 17, Lowe-Volk Park at 2401 State Route 598 will host Halloween Family Fun Night from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Costumes are welcome. Activities listed include a bonfire, face painting, crafts, wagon rides and children's treat bags. The evening also features guided night hikes, a self-guided clue hike and stargazing with Crawford Park Astronomy Club members if weather allows.
For children ages 0-5, Little Explorers: Seeds is scheduled Oct. 20 at 5:30 p.m. at Lowe-Volk Park. The session is described as hands-on sensory and fine motor practice involving seed shapes, sizes and seed pod dispersal along the trail.
Volunteers are sought Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for Unger Barn Clean-up Day at Unger Park, 1303 Bucyrus-Nevada Rd. Work includes cleaning stalls and preserving vintage farm equipment. Tools, gloves and water will be provided, dust masks are recommended, and participants must be at least 12.
Also Oct. 24 at Lowe-Volk Park, a Fall Foliage Hike at 2 p.m. will be led by Naturalist Donald and focus on autumn leaf colors. At 7:15 p.m., the astronomy club will host Viewing the Night Sky, with Saturn, the Andromeda Galaxy and targets in the Big Dipper. Attendees may bring telescopes for assistance, and bad weather moves the program into the nature center. The source says all events are open to the public, with more information at crawfordpd.org or the district's Facebook page.