2026 Outstanding Government Agency: Lexington Parks & Recreation's Division of Natural Areas

There’s a lot happening across Lexington Parks & Recreation’s Natural Areas Team. From caring for more than 1,100 acres of parks to creating new ways for people to experience and connect with nature, this Team is finding creative ways to make environmental education and outdoor experiences more accessible for their community.

That work is why Lexington Parks & Recreation's Division of Natural Areas was selected as the recipient of KAEE’s 2026 Outstanding Government Agency Award!

The Natural Areas Team oversees 1,100 acres across four parks and provides nature programming, volunteer opportunities, hikes, and other ways for the public to get involved. In 2025 alone, the Team welcomed more than 160,000 visitors to their parks and programs.

Over the past several years, the Team has continued to grow its programming while also taking on new acreage, including Lexington’s first public river access park. But what really stands out is the effort they put into making sure more people have the opportunity to enjoy and learn from these natural spaces.

At Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, staff members Christopher Poehner, Pony Meyer, and Callie Dickman workg to create meaningful experiences for visitors while continuing to improve the health of the land.

Chris collaborates with statewide partners on controlled burns and an innovative meadow restoration project that includes  creation of two new wetlands. The Team has also introduced programs like an annual Pride Hike, created in partnership with the Lexington Pride Center, and a track chair program that allows visitors to reserve a tracked wheelchair to help navigate the trails.

In addition, Pony  secured funding from the State’s Native American Commission for new signage along the Discovery Trail highlighting Native American history and contributions to the land.

At McConnell Springs, a team led by Jason Thomas has increased efforts to remove invasive species, particularly wintercreeper. Staff are also working on creating reflection nooks throughout the park, giving visitors places to slow down, sit quietly, and observe nature.

And environmental education doesn’t always look like a traditional nature program. Constance Brown and Kaiya Schaffner have created new programs like “Weeds to Works of Art,” which explores creative ways to reuse invasive species, along with new nature journaling programs that bring art into environmental education.

One of the Team’s newest efforts is Nature in Your Neighborhood, an initiative led by Constance Brown and Haadi Rana to bring nature programming closer to where people live.

During June and July, they brought nature education to parks throughout the center of Lexington, rather than requiring participants to travel to parks on the outskirts of the county. By bringing these programs into the heart of the city, the initiative helps remove one of the barriers that can keep people from participating: transportation.

The Team is also working to make outdoor recreation more accessible. The Equestrian Program, led by Georgia Ockerman, offers low-cost beginner riding lessons to the public as well as participants in Lexington Parks and Recreation’s therapeutic recreation program.

Across Lexington’s four natural areas parks, the Natural Areas Team has also created TR Nature Explorers, a six-week series offered each spring and fall for adults with disabilities. Participants get outside, explore different parks, and take part in hands-on environmental education experiences.

And the opportunities extend to younger community members, too. Jonathan Boone, who oversees outdoor programs, hosts about 80 kids each week at Camp Kearney, where participants can learn activities like archery, paddling, and fishing.

Most recently, Lexington Parks & Recreation added the Nature Bus, providing free transportation from downtown to Kelley’s Landing River Park so community members can explore and connect with nature without transportation being a barrier.

The Natural Areas Team is doing all of this with just seven full-time staff members, supported by about 20 part-time seasonal employees.

Their work is a great example of how environmental education can take many different forms. It can look like restoring a meadow, teaching someone how to fish, creating a nature journal, learning about the history of a place, removing an invasive species, or simply giving someone a quiet place to sit outside.

What makes Lexington Parks & Recreation’s Natural Areas Team especially deserving of this award is their commitment to inclusion, equity, and trying new things. They continue to look for ways to reach people where they are, work with community partners, and create opportunities for people of different backgrounds, abilities, and experiences to connect with the outdoors.

KAEE is proud to recognize Lexington Parks & Recreation's Division of Natural Areas as the 2026 Outstanding Government Agency Award recipient and celebrate their work at the 2026 KAEE Conference in Lexington, Kentucky. The 2026 Excellence in Environmental Education Awards will be presented during the awards dinner on Thursday, November 12, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Lexington/UK Coldstream.