ALABAMA WILDLIFE FEDERATION INC

IMAGINE a world where your only connection to nature is the screen of an electronic device. A world where you have no concept of how your dinner made its way from a nutrient-rich field to your meat-and-three-plate or how the restaurant table you are dining upon began as a seedling relying on the right combination of soil, water and sunshine to thrive as a living organism and then be transformed into a product you take for granted daily. In today’s society, it appears that the basic man-land connection has been lost - overshadowed by technology and convenience.

Unfortunately, this world is a reality for many Americans.

NOW IMAGINE a world where you can forage for wild blueberries. A world where you understand exactly why plants need sunlight to make food. A world where a walk in the creek isn’t complete until you catch a crawfish in your net. In this world, you are not just a passive observer of the natural world; you are an active member of it. At Alabama Wildlife Federation’s (AWF) Alabama Nature Center facility, this world becomes reality.

At the Alabama Nature Center, the man-land connection is thriving, and the future of our nation’s natural resources is in the wet, dirty hands of the thousands of children who catch their first catfish, explore aquatic life in the creek and observe spiders building intricate webs. Through experiences such as these, the natural connection hidden deep within begins to awaken and be stimulated in a new way that longs for engagement. Slowly, the imaginary boundary that has kept man and the natural world divided is removed. Animals and plants that were once considered “icky” are now considered incredible.

No longer viewed as trees that are sticky, frogs that are slimy and spiders that are scary, nature takes on a whole new meaning for children throughout Alabama when they attend one of AWF’s conservation education programs at the Alabama Nature Center. From customized field trips to summer day camp to public weekend programs, children of all ages experience learning in an environment that takes them away from the television and computer screens of today and into a 350-acre outdoor classroom with hardwoods, pines, stream, ponds and hiking trails. No longer constrained by manmade walls, children can exercise their imagination and awaken their discovery as they learn how to conserve our nation’s most vital natural resources through activities such as fishing, wetland hikes, nature scavenger hunts, bluebird house construction, orienteering, rock hounding and clay sculpting. Wildlife biology, geology, wetland ecology, soil science and plant ecology are just a few of the outdoor educational programs that instructors offer daily to help reconnect man with nature.

The effectiveness of AWF’s conservation education programs is evidenced not only by return visitors but also by the excitement on a child’s face when he discovers a new insect or the constant chatter of children as they splash their way down one of the creeks. Those are the moments when the ANC instructors know that they have done their job well, when barriers between man and nature have been lifted and a true connection has been made.