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Mill Creek hosts rabbit event
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Neighbors | Natalie Scott.Carol Vigorito read "Rabbits and Raindrops" by Jim Arnosky to children at the nature hour event at the Ford Nature Center April 13.
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Neighbors | Natalie Scott.Fran (left) and Lauren Klanica listened to the story read by Carol Vigorito (not pictured) at the children's nature hour event April 13.
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Neighbors | Natalie Scott.Carol Vigorito holds an unnamed 5-week-old domestic rabbit from Mill Creek MetroParks Farm at the children's nature hour story time in Ford Nature Center April 13.
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Neighbors | Natalie Scott.Carol Vigorito, one of the naturalists who teach about nature and animals at Mill Creek Park, did a rhyme using finger-play at the children's nature hour April 13.
By NATALIE SCOTT
With spring finally here, Mill Creek Park hosted a wild rabbit-themed children’s nature hour at the Ford Nature Center April 13.
The nature hour, which was expanded from the preschool nature hour, was led by Carol Vigorito and featured stories and lessons on the wild rabbit and the differences between wild and domestic rabbits. The lesson also included a visit from one of the MetroParks Farm’s baby domestic rabbits and a short walk in the park to look for different foods that wild rabbits would eat.
“The real purpose of the children’s nature hour is to commit people of all ages to nature,” said Vigorito. “This is really important to Mill Creek Park. We want to fill people with a love of the outdoors and nature, especially at a young age, because often, if that love is not instilled early, it is much harder, if not impossible, to do at an older age.”
The story time began with a reading of “Rabbits and Raindrops” by Jim Arnosky, which was about a family of rabbits living in the wild and their day-to-day lives, including the types of food they eat, different shelters they seek, and how weather and habitat affect them.
After the story, the 5-week-old baby rabbit, who is not yet named, was brought in for the children to observe and pet. The event concluded with a short walk along some of the trails in Mill Creek Park and a short craft.