Bears oh my

While people are spending more time indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizations are trying to find creative and safe ways for community members to be out of the house and enjoy time together.

Through the combined effort between Jasper County Conservation, the Newton Public Library and Newton Main Street, stuffed bears have been placed throughout the community for people to find. Whether its at the parks or the library or businesses there are plenty of bears to find.

“We decided we would put zip tied teddy bears up in our trees along our hiking trails and kind of make it a treasure hunt for people,” Jasper County Conservation Director Keri Van Zante said.

The idea came from the park officer at Ashton Wildwood, Jerry Ratliff. Van Zante said he saw what some other towns were doing and wondered if they could do something along the same nature.

“He asked me if there was something we could do in our parks. To kind of follow that theme,” Van Zante said.

To kick off the bear hunt, youth services librarian at the Newton Public Library Phyllis Peter did a special bear hunt story time. Even the library has gotten involved with the bear hunt with bears in the library windows.

“I kind of threw it together (March 27) and I did the Facebook live event,” Peter said.

In the parks, there are bears located on the trails at Jacob Krumm, Ashton Wildwood and Mariposa. Thy are up high in the trees so people won’t be touching them to avoid contamination, Van Zante said.

“There are signs out at each of the parks at the beginning of the nature trail,” Van Zante said.

While these bears are available to those people in Jasper County, and many are heading out to find them, Van Zante said she knows there are also people coming from outside of the county to go on hunts.

“I think this is great. I think we are going to have visitors from all over that might not have ever come to our parks,” Van Zante said.

Not only are there bears hanging out in trees on the trails and in the windows at the Newton Public Library but people can go for a walk in downtown Newton and find some little bears in the window of some of the shops.

“I think it gives people the opportunity to still come downtown and see that our business owners are still in their store fronts ... It’s also a good way for them to window shop if they are out wandering looking for these bears. The downtown business owners feel like they are giving back to the community in their own little way,” Newton Main Street Executive Director Erin Yeager said.

While everyone is spending more time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic there are still plenty of ways for people to get out together as a family while also being safe. The bear hunt will continue for a while, Van Zante said, giving people plenty of time to search.

“I hope they get out with their families I hope they get some sunshine on their face and practice social distancing but also get out there and explore out parks,” Van Zante said.

If specific information on the location of the bears on the nature trails, check the Jasper County Conservation page for the post explaining which trails have the hidden bears.

Contact Dustin Teays at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or dteays@newtondailynews.com