The mission of Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks is to conserve open spaces, while providing places and opportunities that encourage people to discover and experience nature. Metro Parks features 19 outstanding natural area parks with more than 230 miles of trails and over 27,700 acres of land in seven Central Ohio counties.
Since the start of the pandemic, Central Ohio residents have had to stay closer to home, but this has also created a new opportunity for residents to explore more of their neighborhood parks and find joy and excitement in their own backyards.
Toward the end of last year, Joshua Simon accepted a new position as Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for Metro Parks. At the start of his role, Joshua has been reaching out to community-based organizations big and small to build community and connect diverse groups with nature within Metro Parks. Through building new relationships and strengthening existing ones, Joshua seeks to organize community events, increase nature programming activities, explore and develop nature-based career pathways, and offer other activities that build racial equity, diversity and inclusion in Central Ohio.
Join Joshua Simon for a conversation on his progress working with youth and recently developed partnerships to increase community engagement opportunities.
