BY AMANDA PEVEY
ELMORE AUTAUGA NEWS
Recently the Alabama Nature Center hosted their annual Earth Day Festival. Over 200 participants attended this outdoor event. An Earth Day event emphasizes the protection of the environment while also demonstrating the importance of Alabama’s natural resources. Activities included presentations, live animals, kid crafts, scavenger hunts, hikes, food, and a movie special. Food was for sale which consisted of hot dogs, chips, and drink. Ice cream was for sale in the gift shop. Admission was only $5 for ages four and up. All proceeds went back into the Alabama Nature Center.
“We had 220 guests who joined us with beautiful weather for our Earth Day Festival,” said ANC Camps and Community Programs Coordinator Matt Vines.
He continued, “Guests were able to enjoy a variety of activities including kids’ crafts, guided hikes, vendors, live animal presentations, and a creek clean up session to name a few. Kids were able to make painted bug rocks, door hangers, and native flower seed bombs. We had quite a few vendors join us during the festival which included Alabama Department of Environmental Management, US Forest Service, Montgomery Zoo, Prattville High School Tre Huggers Club, Mimi’s Designs, Alabama State Parks, Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Ms Craft Princess Designs, and Treasured Tropicals. This was a great event highlighting the importance of Alabama’s natural resources.”
The Alabama Nature Center’s next event is the Big Backyard Campout on May 18th and 19th. Enjoy a night with your family under the stars with activities that include making smores, watching a movie, a glow stick night hike, and more! The kids will even get to make their own glow stick lantern to take home! Guests will need to bring their own camping supplies, and all camping will be Tent Only. The fee for this event will be a weekend pass rate of $5 per person. To purchase a ticket for the backyard campout please visit www.alabamawildlife.org
The ANC Summer Camp 2024 is OPEN for registration. For more information and to register please visit www.alabamawildlife.org
For more information and upcoming events, please check their Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/alabamanaturecenter
