June is “Great Outdoors Month” and is full of exciting things to do for kids and adults alike. Join us at “Getting the Dirt on Rocks, Minerals and Soil” workshop for educators, “Conservation Homeschool Day,” the Northern Olentangy Watershed Festival, the Powell Festival and more.

The educators’ workshop, “Getting the Dirt on Rocks, Minerals and Soil,” will be held on June 24 and 25 at Highbanks Metro Park and is geared toward those who work with elementary and middle school kids.

The workshop will be taught by resource professionals from the Delaware and Franklin soil & water conservation districts, Orton Geological Museum and the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio. The fee is $50. Participants may also elect for one semester hour of graduate credit from Ashland University for $175. The workshop will be aligned to the new Ohio science standards. Visit the Delaware Soil & Water Conservation District website at www.delawareswcd.org for more details.

The “Conservation Homeschool Day” is scheduled for Monday, June 22.

From 9 to 11 a.m., hands-on activities will be conducted with homeschool kids ages 5 to 17. The event will take place at the Delaware SWCD Fair Park, located next to the pig and lamb barn at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.

Younger students will learn about animals through furs and activities dealing with wildlife populations and camouflage. Middle-age students will compete in the water Olympics, experience Dutch oven cooking, and participate in raised bed planting at the Fair Park. Older students will experiment with construction of miniature boats and test their creations in a boat race on the waterfall.

The event is free but registration is required. Email [email protected] with questions or to make a reservation.

The second annual Northern Olentangy Watershed (NOW) Festival is scheduled for Saturday, June 20, from noon to 3 p.m. at Mingo Park.

The next weekend is the 19th annual Powell Festival on June 26 and 27 at Village Green Park. Both events are free and will have something interesting and informative for all ages.

Join us at both festivals and try your hand at a scavenger hunt in our soil tunnel and participate in activities about water.

For more information on the NOW Festival, contact Kristen Piper at [email protected]. For all the details on the Powell Festival, visit www.heartofpowell.org.

We challenge you to take a loved one to the great outdoors. We are a nation of planners but great delight can be found in a spontaneous trip to one of our local parks.

Delaware County has an amazing selection of places to walk, fish, bike, wildlife watch, picnic, kayak, geocache and more. The city of Delaware and Preservation Parks of Delaware County, as well as many of our townships and villages, have lands accessible to all ages for free.

Who knows? You may find Great Outdoors Month so invigorating that you decide to celebrate “Great American Backyard Campout Day” on Saturday, June 27.

And remember — Father’s Day is Sunday, June 21. I’m sure Dad and Grandad would enjoy the fun, too!

To learn about our natural resources and ways to conserve them for generations to come, visit the Delaware Soil & Water Conservation District at www.delawareswcd.org or stop by our office at 557-A Sunbury Road in Delaware.

Hayes’ Ethan Tucky (19) pressures Buckeye Valley quarterback Tim Schilling during the first game of the 2014 season. Tucky committed to play college ball at Boston College — an announcement he made via Twitter Sunday evening.

By Ben Stroup

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Ethan Tucky knew where he wanted to play college football … he just didn’t know if he’d be able to temper his excitement enough to hold off telling his 1,500-plus followers until his scheduled announcement via Twitter.

“I typed up the tweet at 5:55 (Sunday evening) and was just sitting, looking at my phone, waiting until 6 to send it out,” Tucky, who announced he’d play Division I football at Boston College following his senior season at Hayes, said. “I was so excited to be committing to an institution like Boston College. When I was looking at my phone there wasn’t a single doubt in my head … it just felt right.”

Sifting through his 15-plus Division I offers was the hard part, the All-Ohio linebacker said. Picking the right fit from the top five or so, though, was a breeze.

“The decision was based on three main things: the athletic side, the academic side and the spiritual side,” Tucky said. “Athletically, Boston College is headed toward being one of the best schools in the ACC; academically, I’ll be leaving with one of the best degrees, if not the best degree, in the ACC; and spiritually, it’s the only school in the ACC, and one of the only schools in the entire nation, that has the institution of God built around the college. When you look at it that way, from my standpoint, it was a no-brainer.”

“The choice typifies Ethan,” Hayes head coach Mike Golden said. “Very mature, very considered … for reasons both on and off the football field. Now he can just relax, play football and enjoy his senior season.”

After finishing with just two wins a couple years ago, the Eagles finished 7-6 last fall, dropping four games in the final few minutes of the fourth quarter.

“If they finish those four games they’re an 11-2 program, they win the ACC and who knows what happens after that,” Tucky said. “The direction the program is heading is outstanding, and I want to be a part of it.”

He also wants a part of earning one of the best degrees out there — something that will set him up for success when his days of playing football are behind him.

“From an academic standpoint, Boston College is one of the most prestigious schools in the nation,” Tucky said. “The fact I have the opportunity to go to such a school is outstanding to me because I very much value education.”

BC was also the first school among the Power 5 conferences to offer him a scholarship, giving it an edge among his other top contenders: California, Iowa, Kentucky and Wisconsin.

Tucky said he liked what California brought to the table from an educational standpoint, but it was too far from home — his family wouldn’t be able to travel to see him much and he wouldn’t be able to fly home very often, either. Iowa’s draw was its top-notch coaching staff, Wisconsin interested him because of its tradition and Kentucky would allow him to play in the SEC.

“Each school has great qualities,” Tucky said, “But at the end I could tell (BC) was right.”

Before he heads off to Boston, though, Tucky has a senior season at Hayes — one he plans to enjoy from start to finish.

“First of all I want to have fun,” he said. “It will be my last few months at Hayes, and even in Delaware for a while, and I want to enjoy every minute of it. I love my teammates, I love my coaches and I love the city of Delaware.”

He also wants to make his hometown proud.

“The other main thing I want to do is make the city of Delaware proud of the school,” he said. “There is something special going on now with Golden … the way coaches coach us and the way we train has changed. I absolutely love the city of Delaware. If I can have fun my senior year, have fun with my teammates and make Delaware proud, 20, 30, 40 years from now, when I’m looking back at my senior year, I can smile knowing I gave it my all to make Delaware proud.”

Follow Ben Stroup on Twitter @delgazette_ben.

Campers, coaches and current players pose for a picture during the the Delaware Hayes Baseball Youth Camp, which wrapped up last week. The event, a joint effort of the Delaware Baseball Boosters Club and the Delaware Community Center YMCA, was aimed at campers ages 8-15 and included individual instruction and a written skills assessment. All proceeds from the camp will benefit the Delaware Hayes baseball program.

Campers, coaches and current players pose for a picture during the the Delaware Hayes Baseball Youth Camp, which wrapped up last week. The event, a joint effort of the Delaware Baseball Boosters Club and the Delaware Community Center YMCA, was aimed at campers ages 8-15 and included individual instruction and a written skills assessment. All proceeds from the camp will benefit the Delaware Hayes baseball program.