Shannon Lyaski donned her hiking boots and mask while standing in front of animal skulls, eggshell displays and a diagram titled “Amazing Mammals.” Then, Lyaski, the Genesee County Park & Forest (GCPF) conservation education program coordinator, ran her fingers along the brown- and cream-colored deer hides spread out in front of her on Nov. 14.

“What these hairs do is [they trap] all that warm air in between the hairs and inside of each hollow hair,” Lyaski said while holding up a hollow, strawlike deer hair for GCPF’s Interpretive Nature Center guests to view — from a safe, 6-foot distance.

“It’s such good insulation that if they’re lying outside and it’s snowing out, the snow will fall, it will land on the deer’s back and it doesn’t melt,” she said during The Secret Life of Deer naturalist-guided hike.

The Secret Life of Deer is one of the numerous educational opportunities GCPF has hosted for Genesee County, New York, residents who are seeking outdoors, socially distant recreational programs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Sustaining Park Operations During a Public Health Crisis

Public parks have generally fared better than other recreational facilities, but they have faced COVID-19 restrictions to maintain their operations. GCPF temporarily closed its Interpretive Nature Center, canceled its public programming and reduced its staffing level in mid-March at the outset of the pandemic in the U.S. The park remained open for recreational use with the understanding that visitors must follow safety precautions.

Some group functions, like GCPF’s summer career exploration camp, fishing derby and birding event were called off. However, programs such as Owl Prowls, Science Wednesdays, Nature Explorers and The Secret Life of Deer have endured, albeit with COVID-19 measures that reduced group sizes to 15 people.

“What we’ve done is we’ve scheduled more programs,” Lyaski said. “And what we’re trying to do is provide those opportunities and encourage everyone to sign up early, preregister as early as possible because space is limited.”

The Association for Conservation of Recreational and Natural Spaces (ACORNS) is a friends of the park nonprofit that has helped to sustain GCPF through fundraising and volunteer support. ACORNS also partakes in wildlife monitoring, invasive species prevention and nature-related activities that bring guests to the park despite recent drops in attendance at group gatherings.

“At the county park, there have been record numbers of people showing up this year,” said ACORNS president Julia Garver. “But I think the numbers prove that people are being a little cautious about signing up with a group of potentially unknown people. They’re doing things within their own presumably family groups or close friend groups.”

“At the county park, there have been record numbers of people showing up this year. But I think the numbers prove that people are being a little cautious about signing up with a group of potentially unknown people.”

–ACORNS president Julia Garver

GCPF and ACORNS’ Community Education Impacts Amid COVID-19

In the midst of the pandemic, ACORNS volunteers have assisted Lyaski with The Secret Life of Deer and other learning opportunities in which they offer eventgoers insight into their knowledge of local environmental conservation.

“I usually do it for two reasons,” said Jeff Langdon, member of the ACORNS board of directors, after the guided hike. “One is to assist Shannon. And then the other one is selfish, to be quite honest with you. I’ll sign up for classes that I don’t know much about. So guess what? I’m learning also, and I learned a lot about deer today.”

GCPF will host a socially distanced “Create-A-Critter and Treats for Wildlife” event Dec. 5. Lyaski and Garver agree that GCPF and ACORNS aim to provide as many park experiences as possible for local students, county residents and visitors from regions outside Western New York.

“Our goal is to promote the park, to make the community understand that it’s a wonderful place for having fun, for recreational activities, for enjoying nature and wildlife, learning new things,” Garver said.