So how do you get started?

 

Interested people submit applications, and the Toledo Police Dept. do complete background checks on all of the volunteers. Each volunteer will complete a training program that includes a manual and a basic First Aid course.

 

Questions? Contact Jay Catlow catlow68@gmail.com or Officer Mohr  kathleen.mohr@toledo.oh.gov.

In the fall of 2014, Jay Catlow, a member of the Ottawa-Jermain Park Advisory Board and mountain bike enthusiast, was observing the volunteers who patrol the Metroparks, and thought that idea might work on the Mountain Bike trail in Ottawa & Jermain parks. His initial vision was to get a group of other mountain bike enthusiasts from Toledo Free Ride to be on the lookout for problems on the trail, and report then to the Police Dept. or Parks Division staff.

 

He discussed the idea with Toledo's Commissioner of Parks, Recreation & Forestry, who liked the idea, and went to talk to the Toledo Police Department about it. The Police were very supportive, and after meetings in the spring of 2015, a program greatly expanded from what Jay initially envisioned was created. It was named the Ottawa-Jermain Park Volunteer Trail Patrol. A press conference was held on July 2, 2015 to introduce the program.

Volunteers can patrol either on foot or on a bicycle. They work in pairs, are supplied bright yellow T-shirts to wear, and bring their own cell phones. A website is being set up to coordinate who is patrolling on what day & time. This will be especially useful if you want a partner, or want to partner with someone else who is already scheduled.

 

So come join us. Not only will you see parts of the park you may have never seen before, but you will also be helping others enjoy Toledo's largest and  finest regional park.