Forest the Squirrel

In January 2021, Georgetown County Parks and Recreation introduced a new mascot, Forest the Squirrel, who encourages people of all ages to be more active and "Go Nuts" for parks and recreation.

Forest's Story

Once upon a time in a tree in the woods, there lived a little squirrel named Forest. Forest was not like the other squirrels. He did not care for gathering nuts, he did not care for chasing birds or teasing cats. No, what really made Forest happy was to watch the humans play their very odd games.

"Why, that woman has hit the ball with a stick," he exclaimed from his perch above the park. "And, oh - that man is running away from nothing! How odd!"

All day long, it seemed, the humans would hit, bounce and throw the balls; or run, just for the sake of running. They'd lift things, they'd climb things, and they'd even willingly jump into water and splash about! As odd as it seemed, it looked like such fun - certainly more fun than any games the other squirrels wanted to play. The other squirrels knew Forest was not happy in the tree. So, one day, they told him to go and see what the humans' games were all about.

Forest was so happy! He jumped down from his tree, ran right up to the humans and said, "Please, oh please, can I play your games?"

The people were shocked - after all, he was a talking squirrel! But because he asked so nicely, they happily let Forest join in all the fun. Forest learned all about baseball, basketball, swimming, exercise and even fishing. Now that he's a master of all the humans' games, he wants to teach as many people as possible about how to have fun!

He knew he couldn't make it to all the parks and all the recreation centers every day, so he recruited some little helpers to stand watch at all the parks. That way, everyone would know they're in a place where they can play all the games they like.

So, when you're in the park - stop by and say hello to Forest! He's waiting for you to come see him and GO NUTS for our Parks and Recreation facilities.