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Oklawaha Valley Audubon Society
Education Programs
The Oklawaha Valley Audubon Society conducts and supports
several educational projects each year. Our outreach is mainly to school
children under the able guidance of Mary Anderson. For more information
please call Mary Anderson (787-9320).
Florida's Oklawaha Audubon Chapter to Run Lake
County Wetlands Day with 8,500 Audubon Adventures Students on
November 24th, 2003.
New York, New York, Friday, November 7, 2003 - On Monday November
24, 2003, the Oklawaha Audubon Society Chapter in Florida will sponsor
and conduct Lake County Wetlands Day. The program is the culmination
of the Chapter's yearlong effort to make wetlands education and conservation
a priority in their community.
Audubon Adventures has supplied the Chapter with support for teacher
and school outreach. On the 24, every third, fourth, and fifth grader
in Lake County's schools, almost 8,500 students, will be involved
in the event. The Audubon Adventures wetland educational unit "Wetlands:
Where Water Works" is being used as a teaching tool.
The event is the brainchild of Oklawaha Chapter Vice President Mary
Anderson. She is working to involve Chapters and communities throughout
her area in this wetlands appreciation and conservation event, and
is hoping to make this a statewide annual event. To see the Orlando
Sentinel's story on the expansion of this unique initiative, visit Orlando Sentinel
or call Ms. Anderson at 352-787-9320. |
October 27, 2003 PRESS
RELEASE
November 24 is being celebrated in the Lake
County schools as Lake County Wetlands Day. All third-, fourth-,
and fifth-grade Lake County students will be participating in
the classroom.
The curriculum will utilize a newspaper from
Audubon Adventures entitled, "Wetlands: Where Water Works." All
the materials and teachers' resources are correlated to the Sunshine
Standards for reading, writing, and science; for example, students
may investigate adaptation by comparing terrestrial and aquatic
plants. Funding for these materials is provided by the Oklawaha
Valley Audubon Society and a grant from the Lake County Water
Authority.
By studying the natural "biome" the students
will discover the fundamental principles of adaptation, biodiversity,
and interdependence in the wetland habitat. (A biome is a large
region of the earth that has a particular climate, dominant type
of vegetation, and organisms adapted to that particular environment.)
These are important fundamentals for these young future stewards
of Lake County Wetlands to learn and appreciate because over 1/3
of Lake County's 229,000 acres is water and wetlands. Wetlands
are places where the soil is saturated with water for at least
part of the year. They are complex habitats with diverse plant
and animal life adapted to survive in a water-dominated environment.
They act as sponges with a huge impact on neighboring ecosystems:
they prevent pollutants from entering the drinking water, they
filter nutrients, they prevent erosion, and they control flooding.
Currently 40% of species on the endangered list depend on wetlands
in some way. Wetlands are habitats people enjoy and appreciate,
so awareness is crucial to preventing future wetland destruction.
Joining the Lake County third-, fourth-, and
fifth-graders in celebrating November 24 as Lake County Wetlands
Day are the Lake County Water Authority, the Board of Commissioners
of the Lake County Commission, St. John's River Water Management
District, the Lake County School Board, and Oklawaha Valley Audubon
Society.
October 27, 2003 The Oklawaha Valley Audubon
Society requests that the following resolution be passed at your
next meeting: RESOLUTION Because one third of Lake County’s 229,000
acres consists of water and wetlands, on November 24 all third-,
fourth-, and fifth-grade students in Lake County schools will
gain an understanding of the competitive, interdependent, cyclic
nature of living things in this Wetland habitat by celebrating
Lake County Wetlands Day.
Additional information is available from Mary
Anderson, Vice President, Environmental Education, Oklawaha Valley
Audubon Society, 787-9320.
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Audubon Adventures
Audubon Adventures is the National Audubon magazine and educational teacher
kit that is used to teach conservation and wildlife appreciation to 5th graders.
The kit includes 4 quarterly student magazines, 32 copies each, for student fun and
learning and a teacher's resource guide to classroom and field activities.
To help the teachers to become more effective in using the kit, OVAS
conducted a 3 hour long workshop session July 26, 2002. The workshop was part of
the Lake County School Board Academy, which is conducted prior to the opening of
schoool each summer.
Vernita Nelson, Executive Director of Environmental Education for Audubon of Florida
and Marjorie Murray, a dedicated 5th grade teacher, conducted the workshop on use of
the Audubon Adventure kits to an interested group of teachers and Audubon members.
It is the chapter's objective to provide an Audubon Adventures
kit to each 5th grade classroom in Lake County. Last year we reached this
goal. This coming school year we hope to again reach all classrooms in
23 schools. The number of classrooms has climbed this year to 90 classes.
To reach the goal of providing 90 Audubon Adventure kits, OVAS
will need to raise 90 times $41.50, or $3735. Your support is needed.
You can directly contribute to this valuable youth program by funding
one or more kits for your favorite school. Contact Mary Anderson for details.
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Adopt-A-Bird
In 2002-2003 the 5th grade classrooms are being encouraged to Adopt-A-Bird.
This National Audubon program helps support the recovery of injured birds
of prey. Volunteers are needed to go to one of the 23 schools in Lake County
and assist the teachers with paperwork and the collection of funds ($50)
to adopt-a-bird. Training, materials and introductions provided for the
school of your choice. A staff member from the Birds of Pray Center in Maitland
FL will bring the adopted bird to the classroom and let the children enjoy
seeing the fruits of their savings and earnings. To volunteer call Mary
Anderson at 787-9320.
Earth Day
 Lake County recognizes Earth Day each April with many activities and projects. Earth Day reaches both adults and children and is a key event for public environmental awareness and education. OVAS is a supporter of these fine activities and will have a booth at the Lake County event. You can help by being at our booth to help pass out literature and answer questions about Audubon activities. Or simply come to the event, enjoy and show your interest.
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Audubon Magazine
The Audubon magazine is excellent for telling the public about the beauties of nature, wonders of birding and the efforts needed to keep our outdoors available for future generations. OVAS collects your old copies of these magazines and distributes them to local nature centers, libraries and schools. This is a project in which every Audubon member can participate. Simply bring your read copies of Audubon to any of our monthly meetings. The education committee will do the rest.
Page Revised 9/5/02
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