With fall colors flying and the weather perfect for getting outdoors to

explore and enjoy your favorite scenic spot. Wolf Creek National

Fish Hatchery reminds you that there’s no better time to come visit

the hatchery, enjoy a day at our Visitor/Environmental Education

Center, picnic, fish and more! The hatchery truly offers something for

everyone, so come out and visit soon!

Workshop and event wise, the hatchery will be busy with environmental education events galore! In fact, on Tuesday, October 20^th, 2009, Wolf Creek will host the 3^rd Annual Outdoor Adventure Field Day. The event, which is planned and implemented via a partnership between the hatchery, the Russell County Soil Conservation District and the Friends of Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery, Inc, is an annual endeavor designed to bring all 4^th grade students from Russell County, Kentucky to the hatchery to learn about a variety of nature related topics, ranging from water conservation to air quality. To maximize learning, all presenters are encouraged to center their activities on environmental education related topics, to make their stations as fun and hands on as possible and to correlate their activities to state teaching standards. All total, over 150 students participated in the last year’s field day, and this year is sure to be better than ever!

Are you a teacher, 4-H leader, Girl Scout or Boy Scout volunteer, etc? Would you like to learn new ways to better acquaint your students and participants with the aquatic world around them?  If so, then be sure and register for the Friday, October 23^rd, 2009 Biologist-in-Training (BiT) Workshop at the hatchery.   

The Biologist-in-Training program is an experiential environmental education curriculum that utilizes National Fish Hatcheries and streams, lakes, ponds and rivers as outdoor classrooms.

An engaging 20-page activity booklet guides children through five interactive explorations of fish and aquatic environments. Each of the activities promotes stewardship and the intrinsic value of aquatic habitats, builds skills of observation, and teaches different methods of acquiring, organizing and assessing biological information. In the final activity, children will link with a mentor in the field of biology.  Upon completion of the activities, students will receive an official certificate of accomplishment and a sticker or patch. This incentive provides a sense of pride, ownership, and empowerment to act to help conserve and protect our local aquatic resources. 

The BiT program may be accomplished in a day at any National Fish Hatchery in the Southeast, but also anywhere that water flows. The activities are aligned with national education standards for upper elementary age students; however, the program is designed to be open-ended and adaptable for lower elementary and middle school students. It is ideal for school groups, home school groups, Scout groups, 4-H groups and all children with a sense of wonder.

The BiT program also includes extension activities based on nationally recognized environmental education curricula. The extension activities come ready-to-use in BiT bins that contain all the necessary props and materials. They may be used during a visit to the hatchery, or borrowed for use in a classroom or another off-site location.

During this one day training, participants will learn all aspects of the BiT Program and will walk away with materials he or she can use in the classroom or with any youth program. The cost for the event is $35.00, which includes a t-shirt, lunch, facilitator CD and a classroom set of BiT booklets. The class is set to start at 9 a.m. CST and will complete at 3:30 p.m. CST. For more information and/or how to register, please contact Environmental Education/Outreach Specialist Amanda G. Patrick at 270-343-3797 or via email:  Amanda_Patrick@fws.gov

Don’t forget too that starting November 1^st, 2009, the Visitor/Environmental Education Center will change it hours of operation back to 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. CST daily, Monday through Sunday. The center is open 364 days annually, closing only for Christmas.

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, including how to register and/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