BATAVIA, Ohio — Turtles at Clingman Park have a new spot to catch some sun, after volunteers from a Cincinnati engineering firm built and installed basking platforms in the park’s pond.
The Clermont County Park District said in a Facebook post that the floating platforms give turtles a place to climb out of the water and warm themselves, a behavior officials said is more than just a show. Turtles are ectothermic, meaning they cannot generate their own body heat and instead rely on their environment to regulate their metabolism, according to the park district. Basking also helps the reptiles synthesize vitamin D and ward off disease, the park district said.
The same group of volunteers, from the firm Benesch, also helped the park district extend its boardwalk along the Turkey Trace Trail, the park district said.
Benesch is a national engineering, planning and design firm with a regional office in Cincinnati that describes its mission as “creating spaces, providing connections and improving infrastructure in communities nationwide.” The company runs an employee volunteer program that connects staff with community organizations and helps fund the projects they take on, according to the firm’s website.
Clingman Park, at 2156 U.S. 50 in Batavia, is a 132-acre property that serves as the park district’s administrative and naturalist headquarters. It includes a fishing pond, more than four miles of hiking trails and about 30 acres of former cropland that has been restored to native prairie habitat, according to the park district.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Park District.