Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Come with me to Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine!


We interrupt our regularly scheduled drawing and printmaking babble to bring you a little workshop promotion love fest.

If you were a Brush and Baren reader last summer, you know what a fabulous time I had as an instructor at Hog Island Audubon Camp. This little island has a long history of conservation education... with an honor roll of session leaders that includes Roger Tory Peterson and Rachel Carson. From the Hog Island website:

Since 1936, residential sessions at Hog Island have been led by some of the most respected naturalists and environmental educators in the nation, inspiring scores of scientists, school and university educators, and conservation leaders.
Hog Island BridgeRoger Tory Peterson, inventor of the modern field guide, was among the first teachers at the camp in 1936, where his experiences helped him ignite popular bird watching in the United States.
Rachel Carson, a great force behind the modern environmental movement, visited Hog Island in 1960 and mentioned it in her landmark book Silent Spring.
Dr. Stephen W. Kress, a Hog Island ornithology instructor in the 1970’s founded Project Puffin, the seabird restoration program that is recognized internationally for the pioneering work that brought puffins and terns back to their historic nesting islands on the Maine coast.
Kenn Kaufman, international birding authority, author, and educator, was only nine years old when he read Peterson’s account of time spent at Hog Island. Now Kaufman is one of the Camp’s frequent instructors.

I'm pretty sure I mentioned a while back that I'll be returning this July to share in the fun as an instructor for Sharing Nature: An Educator's Week, but I'd like to tell everyone about it again in case you missed it. We'll be exploring the intertidal zone, rambling through the Maine woods, gawking at Atlantic puffins, and learning so many ways to share nature with others that we risk brain implosion. We'll be hands-on with art, music, and science, and bellies-on with great camp meals. If you know an educator (classroom teacher, nature center docent, homeschool parent), don't you think they deserve a week away at camp?

Need a little bit more incentive? There are scholarships available through the National Audubon Society, up to $500(!)... via an online application here. (The first listing under "All Sessions.") There are other funds available through local Audubon chapters... contact your local organization if you don't see it listed on the scholarship page, and let them know there are matching funds available for their contributions. The deadline for scholarships is coming up soon... so don't dawdle!

If you're not an educator there are plenty of other sessions to choose from... from Family Camp to Field Ornithology. A week on Hog Island is like no other. Why not come see for yourself?

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