Local family earns state recognition for volunteer efforts inspired by their son’s legacy and love of nature

It is often said that parents would “move heaven and earth for their children.” When Mike and Kate Lehner lost their son, Leo, that is quite literally what they decided to do – move earth at a local MetroPark in his honor.

In 2021, high school freshman, Leo Lehner, passed away after an incident during rowing practice. Though the Lehner family was surrounded by their family, friends, networks and local parochial/Catholic diocese community, they decided to work through their insurmountable grief by being a living reflection of Leo’s values: adventure, generosity, kindness and authenticity.

Since Kate fostered an appreciation of nature among Leo and his siblings, Daniel and Maria, the Lehner family understood that spending time outdoors while giving back to the community would be a healing endeavor.

In April 2022, Kate’s extended family participated in MetroParks’ largest annual day of service, volunteering at Possum Creek MetroPark’s newly improved nature play area. Wanting to take the single day of service a step further, Mike reached out to MetroPark staff to inquire about more in-depth volunteer opportunities.

“I needed to move earth,” Mike said. “I needed to pull weeds and throw rocks.”

After hundreds of hours of demanding volunteer work, the Lehner family has helped maintain the nature play area and – through personal fundraising – has supported plans for significant additions to it that will make it more hands-on and accessible to children and parents.

From a single day to expanding nature play

The Lehner family became familiar with the nature play area shortly after it was completed in early 2022. Because the project – achieved entirely by MetroParks staff and volunteers – was a new build during the pandemic, it took considerable time, and volunteers would be essential to helping maintain the space.

Different from traditional playgrounds, nature play areas utilize many natural elements that encourage independent and creative play. Nature play areas offer opportunities for children to problem-solve and test their limits in a safe environment.

“For me, [nature play areas] remind me of my son, Leo,” said Mike. “He’s just going to go out and be creative and find the most interesting things to build or play with. In our fast-paced world where we rarely connect with people, it gives you a great chance to make connections. It’s fun when I get to go out there and see kids explore and they are being creative.”

Mike took the need for volunteers to heart. He worked with MetroParks’ park managers and volunteer services staff to be trained to use the necessary tools to help maintain the area. His weekly visits on Wednesday mornings and evenings – sometimes with his family and friends – would become a therapeutic part of Mike’s grief journey.

“It was the two hours a week that I didn’t have someone talking to me and could just work while listening to a playlist that made me think of Leo,” said Mike. “The work out at Possum Creek was the most important part of the grief process beyond counseling.”

Indeed, the counseling in which Mike and Kate participated helped them to lean on each other. Then, as a team, they leaned on the community by asking for funds to help expand the nature play area, envisioning a space where kids of all ages, interests and abilities could creatively thrive in nature – just as Leo did.

“As I got to know the park staff, they started making a wish list of what they could do with the space and Shane [former Possum Creek MetroPark park manager] had a dream of what he wanted to see out there and I said, ‘Let’s make it happen.’”

After hosting fundraisers, applying for grants and making connections in the community, the Lehner family has raised $200,000 with an additional $50,000 pledged to fully fund additional elements to the nature play area, including: climbing features, a water pump, a zipline, sunshades, archways, a dig pile, adult seating and swings and enhanced signage.

Once the additions are made – which are tentatively slated to begin in 2026 – the Lehner family hopes to continue finding ways to connect children to nature through community advocacy and fundraising.

“Leo lived fully, and our community’s children will be doing the same for generations to come thanks to the generosity and vision of the Lehner family,” said MetroParks Chief of Philanthropy Alexis Larsen. “This expansion of the Possum Creek nature play area will bring it to a level that MetroParks could never have been able to do without their generous support, passion and hard work.”

Live Like Leo

Leo’s classmates, family and friends remember him as being emphatic about people being happy and having fun. Though he had significant special needs (ADHD and epilepsy) he was not brought down by his challenges; rather, he was a bright spot in many of his peers’ lives who struggled to connect with others.

Mike and Kate are incredibly proud of how service-minded he was. He set a goal of breaking his school’s all-time record for service hours, spending much of his free time working in a pantry at Catholic Social Services.

Upon his death, his school created a website for students to donate hours on Leo’s behalf. In just six weeks, the established 885-hour record was exceeded with people donating more than 10,000 hours to the site. Leo’s classmates are currently working on a goal to reach 15,000 by the end of the 2025 school year, what would have been Leo’s graduation.

Many of the students’ service hours have been spent in Five Rivers MetroParks – 223 hours in 2024 alone. Understanding how important nature was to Leo and for the general physical and mental wellbeing of all children, the Lehner’s take solace in knowing kids are spending time connecting to the natural world.

“When [Leo] got out into nature everything changed,” said Mike, “He had a real connection with nature and it had a calming influence on him.”

Mike and Kate set up a “Live Fully,” Facebook group, where they share their outdoor adventures and encourage others to do so with the same adventurous, kind, authentic and generous nature that Leo embodied.

“There is no question that getting out in nature is wonderful for people,” said Mike. “You have to disconnect to reconnect. Find your own nature playgrounds. Go out and find a creek, find bugs, smell wildflowers.”

Leo’s final resting place is at Kateri Nature Preserve, a natural burial space at Calvary Cemetery. He is buried among the “Wildflowers,” a Tom Petty song that Mike frequently listens to when he spends time volunteering at Possum Creek MetroPark.

For their stewardship, vision, service and dedication to connecting youth to nature, Mike and Kate Lehner, and Leo Lehner (posthumously) are being recognized by the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association as 2024 Citizens of the Year. They will officially be presented with the award the first week of February during the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association’s annual banquet.