2007 EEAA Conference

Those that attended last year’s EEAA Conference in Montevallo remember the close call we had as severe storms moved through the area on the Thursday evening as the conference began… so severe, in fact, that the University cancelled evening classes that night as a precautionary measure. But we would not be deterred, and the EEAA Conference went on as if nothing happened. Then Mother Nature toyed with us again this year as winter weather advisories were posted for a potential snow/ice event that threatened to hit northeast Alabama the night prior to the conference. Had the winter weather arrived, we had already been notified that the road to the State Park was very treacherous and the Park Supervisor was prepared to close the Park, possibly canceling the conference after all of the work that SO MANY people had put in to planning and coordinating the three day event. Thankfully, the Cheaha area was spared from the worst of the weather… although the cold, cloudy, even drizzly conditions were not what we had hoped for. Still we were just happy to be able to spend time with our friends and colleagues at one of the most beautiful places in our state.

Thursday evening, the conference began with an enjoyable Swap Meet—participants trading activity books, fossils, mocks and minerals, seashells, posters, and much more. Everyone who participated in the Swap Meet managed to find good homes for their “old junk” and “extra stuff”, and obtained some new resources for use back in their classroom. After the Swap Meet, we were treated to a presentation by Dr. Doug Phillips of Discovering Alabama and certainly one of our state’s true “natural treasures!”
Friday morning we were met with dense fog and cold temperatures, but EEAA folks are a resolute bunch and we would not miss our opportunities to learn about one of the oldest and nationally-acclaimed EE curriculum, visit one of the premier natural history museums in the Southeast, or spend time exploring Alabama’s first State Park!

One group of folks spent the morning delving into Project Learning Tree, the environmental education program that focuses on trees and forest ecosystems, their impact on our lives, and our impact on theirs! The only negative comment we heard about this workshop – and we don’t believe a word of it… well actually yes we do—is that participants had SO much stuff to take home with them that it was hard to carry it all!!!

Another group traveled to Anniston Museum of Natural History to see a variety of exhibits including walking through an Alabama cave, crossing the African savannah, stepping back in time to see prehistoric creatures, and entering a Mummy’s burial chamber. But the highlight for the group was not just seeing what other visitors get to see, but they even got a chance to go “behind-the-scenes” and see the incredible collections that AREN’T on display and only a few others have ever gotten a look at!
But the biggest kudos has to go to the group that braved the weather conditions to hike through Cheaha and some of the surrounding area of the Talladega National Forest to see the natural beauty that this region has to offer. Where else can you climb to the highest point in the state (or even higher by climbing the Observation Tower there), traverse an elevated boardwalk to explore the winter woodlands; and see Alabama’s version of the bonsai tree – evergreens under such stressful environmental conditions that they don’t get much bigger a desk lamp!

A special thanks goes out to Chris Erwin, Alabama PLT Coordinator; Stephen Faughn and Tim Moon at Anniston Museum of Natural History, Maggie Johnston of Camp McDowell, and Renee Morrison and Beth Enders of Jacksonville State University Field School for sharing their time and knowledge with our field trip attendees.
But EEAA Conferences aren’t all about the fun… they’re about the LEARNING, and Friday afternoon and Saturday morning sessions and speakers made this one of the best conferences with so many great presentations and ideas for everyone to take back home with them to help incorporate EE into our daily programs and activities. We saw some amazing herps with our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Whit Gibbons, became fish in the ocean, built our own mini-ecosystems, expressed our creative sides through visual and performing arts, and much, much more. Even though you may not have attended it, you can learn more about how “Fish Make Sense” by reading a review of the session on page 7 (with even a way for you to get the handouts you missed).

And as always, the auction continues to be one of the most amusing activities during the conference. But, EEAA’s Environmental Auction seems to get bigger and better each year, and of course that’s always a good thing since the money brought in during the auction goes straight into EEAA’s Professional Development Fund. The PDF was set up by EEAA’s Board a little over ten years ago in an effort to provide financial assistance for EEAA Members to attend other science or environmental trainings or workshops. To date, EEAA has raised nearly $24,000 to give away to members to help them attend professional development opportunities to become better environmental educators! The bottom line this year is that the EEAA Environmental Auction raised a record $2,700 for the Professional Development Fund. Thanks again to those generous folks giving EEAA quality items for the auction, and of course also to those donating money FOR those auction items.

Thanks to everyone involved in the planning, to those who shared their ideas through workshop presentations, to the conference sponsors and exhibitors, and to everyone who joined us at the “Highest Place in Alabama.” Plans are already underway for the 2008 Conference, as EEAA will most likely return to South Alabama. Look for more details in the next issue of EEAA News!

Relive the 2007 EEAA Conference… click here to view the Conference picture gallery (photos contributed by various attendees)!