Pictures from Earth Day 2010

We are really looking forward to next week..  We have guest speakers lined up to come to talk to the 6th graders, Ken Creel (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)   will be one of the featured speakers with his presentation titled "Why Snakes and Bugs are Good For the Environment"; Steve Jones is coming to teach Earthquake 101 and April Waltz (Alabama Wildlife Federation) will be talking about bird habitats.  Students will also be painting Gourd Birdhouses to put in the OC.  6th, 7th and 8th grade students will be helping to build butterfly gardens, bird habitats. 

In the Beginning - Earth Day 2010

     The students at Whitesburg Middle School began building the outdoor classroom last year on Earth Day.  Lynn McQueen is the lead teacher for the outdoor classroom.  She wrote several grants to fund the outdoor classroom build.  On April 22, 2010 students built a pond with the help of Vought Water Gardens and the Alabama Wildlife Federation.  The pond was the major event that day but we also began developing Bramblett’s Bay.  This is an area design for reading and it is also a sensory garden.  Our Experimental Lab is home to our hydroponic gardens, Great Depression Garden, composting site and verma compositing site. 
     We are currently gearing up for this Earth Week!  Our theme this year is "Happy Habitats".  We will be adding several butterfly gardens, bird habitats, squirrel habitats, a turtle rehabilitation station and frog abodes. 
     We were very excited when one of our Enrichment Science Class students wrote and was awarded a Legacy Partners in Environmental Education Grant.  His grant was to develop a bird sanctuary.  Our lead teacher also was awarded a grant from Legacy.  The students in Mrs. McQueen's Enrichment Science class maintain the outdoor classroom during the year.  We love to see teachers take their classes outside to engage in hands-on learning experiences. 

Check back soon to see our next post......