Mid-South RC&D Grants Help Lee County Schools

The Mid-South RC&D Council recently presented grants to three Lee County Schools to help add to the conservation education of the students and the community: Wrights Mill Road Elementary, Smith Station High School, and Wacoochee Junior High School.

Wrights Mill Road Elementary School Revitalizes Nature's Playground

L-R:  Shaurice Carr, Cosby Company; Alabama representative Mike Hubbard; Silvia Scaife, Wrights Mill Road Elementary Teacher and project director; Robert E. (Ed) Gullatte, Jr., Lee County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor; and Jason Gardner, NRCS District Conservationist, Auburn Field Office.

Wrights Mill Road Elementary School received a grant to help revitalize a Nature Playground. This project involved revitalizing an existing nature trail to provide an outdoor learning center that provides the students and teachers safe access to a creek for water studies, and an information center. This Nature's Playground helps teachers facilitate and provide information to students as they seek to understand the world in which they live.

Because the curriculum for 3rd graders includes the study of plants and their development, the garden is stocked with tools and materials necessary to maintain and provide upkeep of the nature trail.

Revitalizing this nature playground was an important attempt to reach the children, empower their desire to learn, and to be a voice for nature. The outdoor classroom is a powerful vehicle to achieve these education goals and not only benefits the students at Wrights Mill Road Elementary, but it is also enjoyed by the community.

Smith Station High School Updates Lab

Smith Station High School received a grant to update a biology/ecology lab. These improvements will allow teachers to help students acquire skills needed to be aware of soils and water conservation. These skills will carry over into the community as they involved in the project.

L-R:  Jason Gardner, NRCS  District Conservationist, Auburn Field Office; Kathie Ledbetter, Principal of Smiths Station High School; Robert E. (Ed) Gullatte, Jr., Lee County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor; Alabama State Representative Mike Hubbard; and Shaurice Carr of the Cosby Company.

Wacoochee Junior High School Builds Amphitheater

L-R:  Jason Gardner, NRCS  District Conservationist, Auburn Field Office; Robert E. (Ed) Gullatte, Jr., Lee County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor; Alabama State Representative Mike Hubbard; Shannon Tomlin of Wachoochee Jr. High School; and Shaurice Carr of the Cosby Company.

Wacoochee Junior High School received a grant for the development of an amphitheater. This will be the center stage of an outdoor learning center. Students will explore and share the world around them through writings, performances, data collection, and experimentation. All subjects will be incorporated into the curriculum and will show how all subjects work together. This will encourage cross-curriculum teaching.

< Back to Success Stories