Legacy Summer Educator Workshops

Calling all educators.  Legacy Workshops still available. 

Mouth of the South: The Mobile-Tensaw Delta

June 3-7 - Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island

Immerse yourself in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta as you explore the bays, coastal forests, estuaries, watersheds, wetlands, and diverse wildlife that that make up this unique environment.  Activities will include visits to the 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center, Meaher State Park, STARLAB planetarium, the Estuarium, and the Environmental Studies Center, where participants can see a Legacy grant in use.  Educators will participate in boat tours of the delta, learn about coastal plants, experiment with GPS tracking and navigation, and will learn about the history and fragile ecosystems on Alabama’s barrier island. 

From the Mountains to the Gulf

June 18-25 – A Journey Across the Great State of Alabama

Three leading scientific experts, Dr. Jim Lacefield (Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks), Dr. Bill Deutsch (Alabama Water Watch and AU) and Dr. George Cline (JSU), will guide twenty teachers throughout the State of Alabama, sharing their collective knowledge of the waters, geology, flora and fauna to help teachers make connections for their students back at home. The journey will begin in northwest Alabama at Camp McDowell Environmental Center, then zigzag through the state on an educational adventure of a lifetime, visiting Little River Canyon, Mt. Cheaha State Park, Alabama’s 4H Center as well as a chance to paddle the Cahaba. The final destination will be Dauphin Island Sea Lab, where participants will visit the Gulf of Mexico shoreline and waters.

(This workshop requires a $50.00 nonrefundable application fee for Legacy Partners or a $65.00 deposit for Non-Partners.)

Exploring Alabama’s Grand Canyon

July 10-13 – Desoto State Park, Fort Payne

Explore the natural wonder of Alabama’s Little River Canyon by navigating unfamiliar wilderness, paddling Terrapin Creek, hiking and other canyon-specific activities. During a visit to JSU's Little River Canyon Center participants will take part in a variety of hands-on activities such as learning about the wildlife, ecology, geology, botany, water quality and cultural heritage of this southern leg of the Appalachian Mountains.

Fascinating Flora & Fauna

July 18-20 – Camp McDowell Environmental Center, Nauvoo

Explore the beauty of Alabama’s flora and fauna and learn about native and invasive plants, tree identification, organic gardening and composting, sustainable agriculture, native wildlife and outdoor classrooms.  This three-day workshop will include canoeing, water quality testing, hiking, and a birds of prey presentation by Big Dave Hollaway along with many other activities.

Down Under in North Alabama

September 21-24 – Estill Fork

Join spelunking experts on an exciting adventure exploring caves and learn about the biodiversity of North Alabama's karst topography from one of Alabama’s leading geologists, Dr. Jim Lacefield. Find out how caves are formed and what creates the beautiful cave formations. During the cave explorations participants will see endangered aquatic cave life and bats. One exciting part of the workshop will be a visit to an Alabama State Park, Cathedral Caverns, where we will see the world's largest cave opening, the world's largest stalagmite and the world's largest frozen waterfall. We will also investigate a few of the wild caves in northeast Alabama. Through classroom and field studies, we will explore content knowledge, teaching techniques, and classroom activities to help students learn about the wonders of caves.

All Legacy workshops require a $40.00 non-refundable application fee for Non-Partners ($15.00 of this deposit will give the applicant a one year membership in Legacy’s Partnership Program) or a $25.00 non-refundable application fee for all Legacy Partners.  The one exception is the “From the Mountains to the Gulf” workshop, which requires a $50.00 fee for Partners or a $65 fee for Non-Partners. 

The Partnership Program allows environmentally aware individuals to assist us in providing balanced, fact-based environmental education programs and materials to citizens throughout our state. Remember your contribution to Legacy is tax deductible. As a Legacy Partner you will receive discounts on our annual partnership conference and the remaining Legacy workshops for that year.

• Lodging, meals, and materials for the workshops are provided.  Legacy is not able to cover substitute teachers and travel expenses to and from the workshop location. 
• Any K-12 educator currently teaching within the State of Alabama, any person about to or who has already graduated with an Education Degree, graduate students with an Education Degree or other environmental educators may apply to attend. 
• Applications can be downloaded from the Legacy Website at www.legacyenved.org. 
• Contact Toni Bruner at 1-800-240-5115 or toni@legacyenved.org for more information.

Legacy Workshops are made possible through funds generated by the sale of the “Protect our Environment” license tag.  For more information about purchasing the tag go to www.getthetag.com.