According to its website, it's a "planned-use outdoor education facility".
We had a lot of fun while we were there learning about several creatures that inhabit Alabama. Doesn't Evan look interested?! Ha! I promise. He really was.
Our first guide showed us different kinds of snakes. He seemed fearless as he talked about how often he had been bitten by snakes. Yikes! I'm sure there was some educational stuff mixed in his speech, but that part really stuck with me.
Rat Snakes
He even gave the children a chance to touch the snake. I wasn't quick enough with my camera, and missed the shot of Chloe petting the snake. Evan, in true form, opted to watch from a safe distance.
'Baby' Alligator Snapping Turtle
Afterwards, he lead us on a hike to the pond. Before getting to the pond, he pointed out poison ivy to the children. Not too close, kids! " Leaves of three, let them be."
He gave a quick presentation before checking the traps in the pond.
Checking the traps...
Most of the traps had yellow-bellied sliders (turtles) in them.
We hiked back to the pavilion and met our second guide.
She brought us to the garden, where we had a scavenger hunt to find "frogs" hidden in the garden. Chloe getting a clue on where to find the next "frog". (It was taped to her teacher's back.)
Afterwards, she took us on a hike to the catfish pond. The children pretended to be different animals all the way there.
Evan eventually hitched a ride on Daddy's shoulders.
Feeding the catfish
And of course, we wouldn't miss our chance to take a class photo.
This was a great way to experience and learn about nature. And, this was such a sweet bunch of littles. I'm sad that we won't be going on any more excursions with them, but look forward to the sweet friends (and moms) that we'll be meeting in the future.
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