With the spring right around the corner, Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery has some great upcoming workshop opportunities!

On Sat, April 19th, 2008, Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery (NFH) will be partnering with the Russell County Soil Conservation District to sponsor and celebrate the arrival of spring and the great outdoors by hosting an Earth Day Celebration!

The Visitor/Environmental Education Center will open at 8am CST – 5pm CST, and a variety of organizations and agencies will have booths on hand promoting different ways to get connected to the natural world starting at 10am CST running through 3:30pm CST. Agencies planning to attend include the following: Russell County Soil Conservation District, Kentucky Division of Forestry, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Trout Unlimited and the Russell County Middle School PRIDE Club.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff at Wolf Creek NFH will also have a booth setup along with the Friends of Wolf Creek NFH. Free tree seedlings, including wild dogwoods and wild plum trees, will be given away by the Friends of Wolf Creek NFH along with the Russell County Soil Conservation District.

Free birdhouses, energy efficient light bulbs, guided nature hikes and much more will also be available! The event is free and open to the public, so be sure and bring your family and friends for a wonderful day of outdoor fun.

For more information, please contact Environmental Education/Outreach Specialist Amanda G. Patrick at 270-343-3797 or via email: amanda_patrick@fws.gov

Wolf Creek NFH will also be offering two wonderful environmental education trainings/workshops in April.

Environmental Concern, Inc. will be at the hatchery on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 to lead a POW! Workshop. “POW” stands for the Planning of Wetlands. Studies show that habitat programs help boost academic achievement, and POW! takes you, whether a teacher, 4-H leader, etc, through the process of building a schoolyard wetland from start to finish using 25 exciting student activities in lesson plan format. Class times for the April 23rd event are 9am – 4pm CST. Cost for the class is $50, which includes the POW! Guide, all course materials and snacks/lunch. For more information and to register, visit www.wetland.org, call 410-745-9620 and/or email via teachwetlands@wetland.org.

Wolf Creek NFH will also be hosting a Project WILD & Project Learning Tree Certification Training on Sat, April 26th, 2008 from 9am – 5pm CST. This class is open to anyone looking to gain experience in the area of environmental education. A fun-filled day of hands on learning, it is a great training opportunity for teachers, Girl/Boy Scout leaders, 4-H volunteers, etc. Teachers in attendance will gain 8 hours of professional development and also program guidance in core content areas and national standards. Total cost for the program is $25.00, which includes all programming, materials, books and snacks/lunch. For more information and/or to register, please contact Environmental Education/Outreach Specialist Amanda G. Patrick at 270-343-3797 or via email: amanda_patrick@fws.gov

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery is proud to sponsor educational workshops and events that help the public learn more about our incredible natural and cultural heritage. For information on these or other programs at the hatchery, or how you can be involved as a volunteer, please contact Amanda Patrick, Environmental Education/Outreach Specialist, at 270-343-3797 or via email (Amanda_Patrick@fws.gov).