Wintergarden Park had barely usable footpaths and was overrun with non-native invasive plants when Chris Gajewicz took over as natural resources coordinator for the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Department.

“It wasn’t really a park like it is today. The amenities weren’t there. It existed but had no real management,” Gajewicz said.

In the 22 years since, wider walking trails have been installed, the invasive species have been removed and the park is well known throughout Northwest Ohio.

“That was my first challenge … to get Wintergarden Park known by the people of Bowling Green and by people in surrounding areas.

“The whole goal was to make it walkable and comfortable to walk in,” Gajewicz said about the early days when he cut back branches that hung over the trails.

Trails were reoriented around swampland. Over time, he started using satellite imagery for trail placement.

There are more than 5 miles of trails in the park, which has increased from 80 acres in 2002 to 123 acres today.

Gajewicz’s last day with the parks was Tuesday. A retirement party is planned for Friday.

He has developed programming, such as bird watching and geocaching, along with lessons based on curriculum needs for school students.

“What I’ve wanted to do was provide quality experiences for people, quality experiences for the community, and great educational opportunities. And I’ve been able to do that,” he said.

What is now the Rotary Nature Center was built in 1969 and was used for summer camps and as a youth hostel. It was renovated in 1995 and converted to a nature center, with a window-on-wildlife, meeting room with a fireplace and attached kitchen.

A building for storage and public restrooms opened in 2016 and renovations to the center were completed in 2018. The latter included which included new insulation, heavy-duty drywall, refurbished kitchen, new flooring and a fireplace rebuilt with donated rocks.

Over the years, additional properties were purchased, including St. John’s Woods, Bordner Meadow, Twyman Woods and, most recently, Tucker Woods.

The park is now known as Wintergarden/St. John’s Nature Preserve.

While a graduate student at Bowling Green State University, Gajewicz started as the program coordinator for the Wood County Park District. He was on the park board for Bowling Green for less than a year in 2000 – and was the first member to represent natural resources recreation — when the position of natural resource coordinator was developed.

Growing up, the Sylvania native spent a lot of time, walking through Oak Openings Preserve. That is where he developed his love of nature, he said.

“I would spend my days out in the woods, running around, being in nature. I spent a lot of my time going on hikes and taking my dog, and going for walks out in the words and enjoying my time out there.”

Gajewicz got an associate degree in applied science in natural resources interpretation at Hocking College, a bachelor’s degree in outdoor recreation administration from BGSU, and a master’s degree in recreation administration with an emphasis in facility design and development, also from BGSU.

He also had a hand in the vision for Simpson Garden Park, which was started in the mid-2000s.

He and his wife, Gloria, moved to Toledo a year ago when she got a job teaching in the Ottawa Hills school district. She will retire in 11 years.

This summer, the couple will travel to Europe and Italy with their two sons, then to Vermont.

Gajewicz is also giving up his administrative duties to Naturally Bowling Green, the Facebook page he started nearly two years ago during the coronavirus pandemic. He started it so people could share nature sightings and nature experiences in and around the city, as well as ask questions.

He said park use skyrocketted during COVID, and it hasn’t really come down.

“People still use the park a lot,” Gajewicz said. “I think that if anybody were ever to make any comment that this land should be sold and developed, every person that relies on this place as their safe nature haven would lose their minds.”

The park in its entirety now has a conservation easement.

“I can leave now knowing Wintergarden Park is protected in perpetuity and no one will ever do anything on this property that is outside the mission of the property,” Gajewicz said.

He hopes visitors take with them an appreciation for the outdoors and the natural resources that are so close to home.

“I’m very proud of the staff that we have because they are committed to the mission of the parks and rec department, to the community of Bowling Green; they’re committed to education, to the quality experiences of the outdoor environment.

“The best I could do was to develop the replacements for me when I left,” Gajewicz said. “I did what I thought I could do in a 30-year time span. Now it’s time for other people to shine.”