Arcanum Parks & Recreation Committee

05/24/2026

Congratulations to the Arcanum Butler Schools graduating class of 2026! A job well done by each one of you!

Drop a picture of your graduate in Ivester Park & Arcanum Nature Preserve so we can celebrate them with you!

02/03/2026

Great news!! The snow has been cleared off of Gunder Path! Even though the snow did offer some serenity last week in the preserve, many of us are ready to be back out in nature. With the temperatures being just a little more tolerable this week, the clearing of the path couldn't have come at a better time.

01/28/2026

Public Notice:
There will be no February meeting.
The March meeting has been rescheduled for the 19th @ 4pm.

08/07/2025

Due to the Great Darke County Fair beginning August 15th, the Park & Rec Committee will be cancelling their August 14th meeting. The next Park & Rec Committee meeting will be September 18th @ 4pm.

08/01/2025

It has come to this Committee's attention that it is being posted on Facebook by individuals that there is a Park & Rec Committee meeting August 14th @ 4pm to discuss the Arcanum Community Pool.
As there is a Park & Rec Committee scheduled that day, we want to correct the information being posted on Friends of Arcanum, that this committee does NOT have anything to do with the Community Pool.

The Park & Rec Committee was started a few years ago as an advisory committee to Village Council, and is comprised of local residents. The committee was formed when the Village received grant funding to purchase the land adjacent to Ivester Park that is now the Arcanum Nature Preserve. The primary purpose of the committee is to help research, design, plan, and maintain the Arcanum Nature Preserve and Ivester Park in an advisory role to Council.

The committee volunteers spend countless hours researching best practices for maintaining the preserve, walking the parks to detect any damage or future problems, designing trails and keeping them clean, building the pollinated flower in the preserve, recommending rules and regulations to Council for the parks, educating the public on various nature related topics, helping to maintain and enhance the features in the parks such as pickleball/basketball/volleyball courts, etc.

The Parks & Rec Committee welcomes and encourages citizens to attend our meetings, as well as, volunteering to help keep Ivester Park and the Nature Preserve thriving for years to come.

For information regarding the pool, please contact the Village Administrator at 937-692-8500.

07/11/2025

Clara from Berea, Kentucky was visiting her grandparents, Shorty and Gerry Schaar, this past week and took this picture of the Arcanum Nature Preserve. What a beautiful area we live in.

08/01/2024

Help name the trails in the Arcanum Nature Preserve. We encourage each person wanting to vote, to visit the trails before hand, so that you can choose the best name to represent each section of trail.

We are asking for community input in choosing the name of each section of trail in the Arcanum Nature Preserve. The Park & Recreation Committee suggests that each participant in the survey, take a stroll through the trails to help aid in their decision on which name best fits each section of trail.....

08/01/2024

In 2022, with the help of the community 12 trees were planted, and are growing nicely.

We are excited to release information for those wanting to help the tree replenishment in Ivester Park for 2024. This year individuals have the option to donate in monetary increments, or by being a Platinum Sponsor purchasing an entire tree.

Order forms are available online at www.villageofarcanum.com or can be picked up at the Village Administration Office.

If you have any questions, please call 937-693-8500 and speak to either Marcus Ballinger or Julie Miller.

05/07/2024

Need some fresh air? Take a walk through the Arcanum Nature Preserve and witness the beautiful blooms of the Crimson Clover and Butterfly W**d in the Prairie (field behind the pool), or the Lavender Waterleaf and Virginia Waterleaf in the South Woods.

04/04/2024

Did you know that the North Woods of the Arcanum Nature Preserve is home to a large patch of Wild Hyacinth!! Below is some beautiful pictures of last years blooms.

The Wild Hyacinth is a perennial wildflower that blooms in late spring through mid summer, with blooms in an array of colors from pale blue and lilac, to nearly pristine white. It is a hardy flower that can be found in rich woodlands to limestone glades. All these "April showers" we've been having, will sure help our patch to thrive this blooming season.

This wildflower attracts a number of nectar-seeking pollinators, with bees being the primary seeker. Over the last several years the bee population has seen a rapid decrease with a key cause being loss of habitat. We are so glad that our little patch of Hyacinth's can be a heaven to the bee community.

Interesting Fact: At one time the Wild Hyacinth bulbs were a food source for the Native Americans and early Settlers. However, this practice is very much discouraged now due to a poisonous look-alike known as the Death Camas.

Once all this rain is done, start visiting the primitive trails of the North Woods, and watch the Wild Hyacinths bloom fresh spring life into the Arcanum Nature Preserve.