By Staff
Special to The Standard
Seven years after opening to the public, Turtle Point is celebrating a grand opening for the second time on September 30, 2006.
Celebrate the Environment Day is a community festival highlighting environmental issues, organizations, and education in Alabama.
Dr. Doug Phillips of Discovering Alabama will present a lecture and will be dedicating the new Discovering Alabama Wetlands exhibit.
Popularly called simply &#8220Dr. Doug,” Doug Phillips is known widely for his adventurous travels in Alabama's wildlands as host of the highly-rated public television program Discovering Alabama, an educational documentary series featuring the natural history and natural wonders of Alabama.
In addition to creating and producing this Emmy - honored series, Dr. Phillips has pioneered many other important Alabama initiatives for education and conservation, including the acclaimed model school curriculum Discovering Our Heritage: Incorporating Environmental Education to Integrate the Teaching of History, Geography, Science, Mathematics, and Language Arts – A Community Collaborative Approach and the nationally-recognized model for wildland conservation, the Alabama Forever Wild Program.
Phillips holds the position of coordinator for environmental information and education with the Alabama Museum of Natural History at the University of Alabama. While working at UA he has authored numerous publications including the national award - winning books, Discovering Alabama Wetlands and Discovering Alabama Forests.
Another presenter this year will include Alabama's own world-famous Eco-Illusionist, Steve Trash. Steve Trash will entertain and educate the crowd with his magic tricks using garbage.
Professor Bobby Harrison and Artist Larry Chandler, both of Ivory-billed Woodpecker fame, will be at the event as well.
Auburn University's Raptor Rehabilitation Center will be here with live birds of prey. A trio of environmental &#8220edu-tainers” - Jimmy Stiles, Steven Faughn, and Dave Holloway - will put on a great show highlighting Alabama's native wildlife.
This year's event will include the dedication of Turtle Point's new addition and several new exhibits. Museum Designer Jan Mize created a diorama of Alabama's wetland ecosystem and the Longleaf Pine ecosystem. This exhibit was funded in part by Legacy, Inc., Partners in Environmental Education and the D.W. McMillan Trust.
Thanks to the generosity of Escambia County native John Walker Hoomes, we will also be dedicating a new fossil exhibit featuring the Basilosaurus cetoides.
The event will also feature representatives and informational booths from environmental organizations throughout Alabama.
The gates will open at 9 am. Bring your family and some lawn chairs - the festivities will conclude around 3 pm.
The event is free to the public. For more information, please call our office at (251) 296-3401 or email turtlepoint@escambiak12.net.