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BAZETTA -- Cortland resident Jason Lee, who works as a science teacher at Howland High School, also spends much of his time educating the public as a seasonal naturalist at Mosquito Lake State Park, teaching people how to shoot with a bow and arrow, use a kayak or taking them on a nature hike.
He also coordinates educational trips for college and high school students to other states and countries.
Lee said he met Jamison Conley, a park ranger with the Army Corps of Engineers, who used to help with field trips on which Lee took his Howland students.
"He called me once and knew I was busy but asked me if I would be interested in being a park naturalist," he said, noting he has done naturalist work since April 2022.
Lee, who has bachelor's and master's degrees in biology and is working on a master's degree in environmental science at Youngstown State University, said he agreed and puts in many hours per year at the park.
"What I like about being a naturalist is that as a teacher, you are confined to the four walls of your classroom while at the park kids can be outside and experience things live. To me, that is amazing," Lee said.
As a naturalist, Lee runs educational programs and other special nature events and hosts classes on archery and BB guns, hikes, pontoon boat rides, ice fishing and cooking fish.
"We offer many programs to attract a wide audience," Lee said.
STUDYING SCIENCE
Lee said in college, he started off in forensics and one day interned and shadowed former Trumbull County Coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk and then went to Ohio Northern University and decided dead bodies were not for him.
He said he then switched to teaching biology and science classes. He taught two years at Maplewood and 16 years at Howland.
"What makes it enjoyable as a naturalist is my family supports me in this. I bring my own children to the programs. My boss, Josie McKenna, supports the educational programs," he said.
As a seasonal naturalist, the park gives Lee 1,000 hours per year to use for programs and events mostly in the spring, summer and early fall.
"I have been looking at ideas for programs for the youth in the area for January and February. I have suggested winter hikes and ice fishing. The Friends of the Mosquito Lake State Park helped purchase two cabins next to each other, which will turn into nature centers for kids," Lee said.
He said the cabins will be able to be used in the winter for programs. He said the cabins will have a deck in between them for both outdoor classes and indoor classes and a place for the animals. Lee also is working on permits to have birds for educational purposes at the park.
COSTA RICA
Lee also has taken his Howland High School students and graduates on educational trips to Costa Rica last year and to the Grand Canyon earlier this summer.
"For a lot of these kids, they would not otherwise have the opportunity to go on such trips. It really opens doors for them, Two of the students I took to Costa Rica got involved with environmental science and conservation and now help at the park as volunteers," Lee said.
He said the Grand Canyon was more of a geology trip and hiking.
In 2017, Lee went to China through YSU. Lee said the trips are more of an overlook for students to see conservation aspects of how we can protect the environment.
"It is hard to get many students interested in some careers unless the dollar sign is behind it. When you introduce them to some of these careers, they see there are things that money can't buy. I took a boat tour with the Warren Salvation Army, and we had those who go to the drop off center with us. Several of them have never been on a boat before. To see their reactions, money can't buy," Lee said.
As a naturalist, Lee said he gets involved with the Friends of the Mosquito Lake Dog Park, Army Corps of Engineers and other groups.
Lee said being a naturalist has changed over the years.
"It used to be a naturalist was all about knowing about your individual area and in this case northeast Ohio. I believe as a naturalist you not only have to be an educator, but also a conservationist. You also have to be the person to help draw people in to love nature,"he said.
He said he credits the many volunteers who help him at events that make his work easier.
"I fell in love with travel when I was at YSU. I went to China for 30 days on one trip. I learned how travel can provide an opportunity for students to see science firsthand," Lee said.
Lee said in Costa Rica the students learned to make soap from scratch. There also was snorkling and whitewater rafting.
"It is amazing the money people in Costa Rica put in to sustaining the environment. Having traveled to China and Germany and seeing different ways that different cultures handle sustainabilty to help the environment is interesting,'' he said.
SEEING NATURE
Lee also took students to see an active volcano in Costa Rica.
"We saw mud pits and a thermal spring you can bathe in. We took a mud bath," he said.
Lee said when he went to China, he tried different foods such as a barbequed lizard on a stick, which he said tasted like dry jerky.
"Costa Rica's foods are a lot of fresh fruits, and all kinds of beans. People in Costa Rica always have beans with most every meal," he said.
He said they went on a riverboat ride and saw 32 species of birds and also to a coffee bean plantation and saw how they grow crops.
"Students liked being able to experience things first hand with the trip," Lee said.
Lee also is a basketball coach at Mathews schools and cross-country coach at Howland Middle School. He also oversees the science club at Howland High School.
He serves as a board member for the Trumbull County Soil and Water Conservation District,
"That board has an invested interest in Trumbull County. They all have great ideas. It's nice that I am on one side of the lake at Trumbull Soil and Water and on the other side at Mosquito Lake State Park and Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It is nice to see things from both sides," he said.
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