media release- teacher workshop

Project WILD/ USA Phenology Network workshop combo Where: Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center, Ruskin When: Saturday, March 19, 2011 Who should attend: Teachers, scout leaders, summer camp counselors, homeschool parents What: Project WILD capitalizes on the natural interest that children and adults have in wildlife by providing hands-on activities that enhance student learning in all subject and skill areas. Project WILD activities are designed for integration into existing courses of study, instructors may use one or many activities or the entire set of activities may serve quite effectively as the basis for a course of study. Cost is FREE but registration required. Contact Dolly at campbayou@gmail.com or 813-363-5438 by March 5 to reserve your space. This workshop is held during NWF's National Wildlife Week. Camp Bayou programs are Be Out There!, Get Outdoors Florida, Children and Nature and No Child Left Inside inspired initiatives. Camp Bayou is neither a campground nor a summer camp. It was an RV park before the County's ELAP program purchased the land but it is now open for day use only, open to the general public. Through volunteers, donations, membership and grants, the RCDF offers pre-scheduled programs to schools, youth groups, adult groups and families plus it's open from Thursday- Saturday from 9am-2pm for passive recreational pursuits such as wildlife watching, nature photography and trail walks. General admission is still FREE.   The Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center is a public- private partnership between the non-profit Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Inc. (RCDF) and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Camp Bayou is located 3 miles south of SR674 at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin. More information is on the web at www.campbayou.org or call 813-641-8545.

media release Camp Bayou

Camp Bayou Cabin Progress   The Fishing Cabin renovation at Camp Bayou continues with cabin #5. A recent volunteer workday with the sales staff from Auto Trader, succeeded in stripping all the damaged wood in preparation for structural re-enforcement and new siding.   Volunteers are still being sought for future workdays. If you have carpentry skills and would like to help restore the cabins, contact Frank at fcummings4@verizon.net . Organizers plan to have both cabins complete with examples of our fishing history on display in plenty of time for the second annual Beef n' Bones fundraiser this fall.   Camp Bayou is nether a campground nor a summer camp. It was an RV park before the County's ELAP program purchased the land but it is now open for day use only, open to the general public. Through volunteers, donations, membership and grants, the RCDF offers pre-scheduled programs to schools, youth groups, adult groups and families plus it's open from Thursday- Saturday from 9am-2pm for passive recreational pursuits such as wildlife watching, nature photography and trail walks. General admission is still FREE.   The Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center is a public- private partnership between the non-profit Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Inc. (RCDF) and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Camp Bayou is located 3 miles south of SR674 at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin. More information is on the web at www.campbayou.org or call 813-641-8545. ### Dolly Cummings Homepage: www.campbayou.org Blog: campbayou.blogspot.com Follow: twitter.com/campbayou Cause-shopping: www.igive.com/campbayou And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~Kahlil Gibran

media release- Basket making class at Camp Bayou

Basket-Making Class   Children and adults are invited to attend a basket-making class with craftsman Carole Hetzel, of West Palm Beach, on Friday February 4 from 2- 4 pm at Camp Bayou.   Registration is required and space is limited. Please contact Diane at beautyberrybooks@tampabay.rr.com to reserve your spot. You are required to bring clothes pins, bucket, scissors, pencil, and measuring tape. Materials for a small basket will be provided. Class is free but donations are always appreciated!   Carole has a BA in Education from Trenton, NJ and trained with Billie Sudduth of the John Campbell Folk Art School in Georgia.   Camp Bayou is nether a campground nor a summer camp. It was an RV park before the County's ELAP program purchased the land but it is now open for day use only, open to the general public. Through volunteers, donations, membership and grants, the RCDF offers pre-scheduled programs to schools, youth groups, adult groups and families plus it's open from Thursday- Saturday from 9am-2pm for passive recreational pursuits such as wildlife watching, nature photography and trail walks. General admission is still FREE.   The Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center is a public- private partnership between the non-profit Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Inc. (RCDF) and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Camp Bayou is located 3 miles south of SR674 at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin. More information is on the web at www.campbayou.org or call 813-641-8545. ### Photo: sample basket by Carole Dolly Cummings Homepage: www.campbayou.org Blog: campbayou.blogspot.com Follow: twitter.com/campbayou Cause-shopping: www.igive.com/campbayou And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~Kahlil Gibran

Manatee Viewing Center Event

TECO Manatee Viewing Center 25th Anniversary Weekend


On Jan. 15 and 16, the Tampa Electric Co. Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach celebrates 25 years as a warm, safe haven for the endangered Florida manatee. And you're invited to the party! Visit the center Jan. 15 and 16 to enjoy:
•Radio Disney©
•Arts and crafts
•Children's activities
•Free parking and admission
•Manatees: When the water temperature of Tampa Bay is 68 degrees or colder, see these fascinating mammals up close - sometimes by the hundreds!

Note: The Manatee Viewing Center will be open an extra hour, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jan. 15 and 16. For more information, go to www.tampaelectric.com/manatee or call 813-22-4289.

National Park Service special entry days

The National Park Service announced last week that it will waive entrance fees at all national parks during select dates in 2011: Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend (January 15-17), National Park Week (April 16-24), the first day of summer (June 21), National Public Lands Day (September 24), and Veterans Day weekend (November 11-13). This will eliminate entrance fees at more than 100 national parks that normally charge these fees. More than 200 other national parks are regularly open to the public free of charge.
Visit the National Park Service website to start planning your visit.

The Parks Service has some great programs such as Junior Rangers .
Florida National Parks include:
Big Cypress National Preserve, FL
Biscayne National Park, FL
Canaveral National Seashore, FL
De Soto National Memorial, FL
Everglades National Park, FL
Gulf Islands National Seashore, FL
Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, FL

Check it out!

Art Show and Photo Contest Winners

Photos on display before judging- look for them at the South Shore Regional Library in Jan 2011.

Dorothy McNerney with her winning artwork

A belated 'Congratulations!' to our art show and photo contest winners from our Holiday Open House, held December 4.

Art Show winners:

Watercolor


1st Susan Corbett
2nd Dorothy McNerney
3rd Sylvia Fell
Mixed Media

1st Bruce Fallender
2nd Eleanor Harmon Adamo
Acrylic

Virginia Laudano

Pencil
Dorothy McNerney

Photo Contest winners:

1st place- Deborah Theisen
2nd place- Bruce Fallender
3rd place- Cameron Wright
Honorable Mention- Cameron Wright

More meteor showers...

From http://spaceweather.com/


QUADRANTID METEOR SHOWER: Sky watchers in the northern hemisphere should be alert for meteors before sunrise on Tuesday, Jan. 4th. Earth is about to pass through a narrow stream of debris from shattered comet 2003 EH1, the parent of the annual Quadrantid meteor shower. Forecasters say the encounter could produce a fast flurry of 100 meteors per hour during the early hours of Jan. 4th. Details and observing tips may be found at http://spaceweather.com/ .

January programs at Camp Bayou

The year's first Family Naturalist Hour, held on New Year's Day, was a fun and educational session to find, mark and document gopher tortoise burrows at Camp Bayou. More than 20 burrows were inspected for signs of activity then GPS'd for future reference. The monthly Family Naturalist Hour is held on the first Saturday each month starting at 9:30am. Participation is limited to 5 families so call to reserve your space at 813-641-8545. The next event at Camp Bayou will be a service project for MLK Day, Monday, January 17, 2011. Bring your canoe or kayak and join the cleanup crew to paddle around the island south of Camp Bayou to pick up trash, fishing line and other items that are not a natural part of the Little Manatee River. Contact Dolly if you'd like to participate in the river cleanup, campbayou@gmail.com or 813-363-5438. Check out all the future events on the calendar at http://www.campbayou.org/ . If you are visiting the South Shore Regional Library on 19th Ave NE in Ruskin this month, be sure to check out the gallery of photos from Camp Bayou, including this year's Open House photo contest winners. Camp Bayou programs are Be Out There!, Get Outdoors Florida, Children and Nature and No Child Left Inside inspired initiatives. Camp Bayou is nether a campground nor a summer camp. It was an RV park before the County's ELAP program purchased the land but it is now open for day use only, open to the general public. Through volunteers, donations, membership and grants, the RCDF offers pre-scheduled programs to schools, youth groups, adult groups and families plus it's open from Thursday- Saturday from 9am-2pm for passive recreational pursuits such as wildlife watching, nature photography and trail walks. General admission is still FREE. The Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center is a public- private partnership between the non-profit Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Inc. (RCDF) and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Camp Bayou is located 3 miles south of SR674 at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin. More information is on the web at www.campbayou.org or call 813-641-8545. ### Photo: Checking out the tracks while learning about gopher tortoises and their burrows at Camp Bayou Photo credit: Celso Montalvo