The Environmental Center

Good News!Rotary International District 6880 is bringing their Rotary Youth Leadership Awards to The Environmental Center and Easter Seals Camp ASCCA, March 2-5, 2006

The program for this RYLA event is available for download in ‘.pdf’ format. The new 2006 RYLA forms are also available in ‘.pdf’ format for download.

Auburn’s Shawn Asmuth is serving as District Governor for the 2005-2006 term. District Governor Elect for 2006-2007 is Robert A. Greer of Mobile.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive training program for community youth leaders. Young people chosen for their leadership potential attend an all-expenses-paid seminar, camp, or workshop to discuss leadership skills and to learn those skills through practice.

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Coming to The Environmental Center on Thursday, April 20th, 2006, we welcome the Tallapoosa Watershed Project - State of Our Watershed Conference - The Tallapoosa River Basin.

Visit their site for registration. While you are there, explore their photos from last year’s event (lower lefthand column) and view the agenda from 2005 for an idea of the activities.

Also, the Conference Anouncement is available (in PDF format) provides the topics for the 2006 conference.

“The free, two-day State of Our Watershed Conference is for anyone interested in learning more about the TWP and the health of streams, lakes and rivers that comprise the Tallapoosa River Basin.”

Looking forward to seeing you at The Environmental Center.

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For the past week or so, I’ve been working on putting together a new brochure for the Oscar C. Dunn Rotary Environmental Center. I enjoyed this project — I got to learn more about this aspect of the camp and what it has to offer. For example, I now know all about the educational and recreational programs that the camp has available. But rather than just go on here about them, I’ll let you take a look at the new brochure. (The preceding link lets you view the PDF document. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this.)

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On Wednesday, March 1, 2006 Camp ASCCA will seve as a training site for persons interested in learning how to teach or assist in teaching the “Living Streams” program. Dr. Bill Deutsch of the Auburn University Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures will be conducting the training.

The “Living Streams” program is basically an adaptation of bioassessment training done by Dr. Deutsch at Auburn. Lake Watch of Lake Martin (www.lakewatch.org) coined the phrase “Living Streams” and was the group responsible for bringing this program to Camp ASCCA. Campers are able to assess the water quality of a stream by the presence or absence of certain macroinvertebrates or “bugs”. This is a highly popular program and an integral part of the environmental education program and Science Camps at ASCCA. Presently all sessions conducted at ASCCA are taught by volunteers of the Lake Watch organization.

The professional staff of Camp ASCCA will go through the training as well as those interested in helping out at the camp in future programs. This will give Camp ASCCA some flexibility in being able to serve more groups in the future and not entirely rely on availability of Lake Watch volunteers.

The training will go from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and lunch will be provided at no cost. Participates can expect to have a great time and get their feet wet so come prepared! Contact Josh Rhodes or Tom Collier at Camp ASCCA (256-825-9226) to reserve a spot or for more details.

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Dunn Environmental Center

The Oscar C. Dunn Rotary Environmental Center is a state of the art, 4,000 square foot facility located along the shoreline of Lake Martin on site at Camp ASCCA. Opened in 2004, the Center was built through generous contributions from Alabama’s Rotary International clubs.

It is divided into three large areas including an exhibit room, audio-visual room, and classroom.

The exhibit area features world class exhibits designed by internationally known Greg Morrow of Southern Custom Exhibits. Hand painted murals, ecosystem displays, and interactive displays are all integrated into the theme of land, water, and sky.

The audio-visual room is available for educational films, power point presentations, and general meeting area. The classroom is available for use as a supplementary area for teaching programs related to the exhibits and our outdoor programs.

The Dunn Center also connects to a 1500 foot long boardwalk trail that winds through the woods along the shoreline of the lake. There are an additional 1.9 miles of nature trails, too. Plaques with information on identified trees indigenous to our area are located along the trail.

The Environmental Center is available to custom design a program that meets your specific needs.

You may also incorporate our High Adventure Ropes Courses (see photos) into your activities. Other photos available in our Flickr Photo Group.

Check out these sample education plans and consider planning one for your group.

Group Sample Schedules - 3 Group Rotation

Group Sample Schedules - 5 Group Rotation

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