The Center for Wildlife Education and the Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center
Wildlife Center will celebrate 10th anniversary
STATESBORO, Ga. – Oct. 8, 2007 – Are you ready to commemorate a decade of fur, feathers and fact-filled fun at Georgia Southern University? The Center for Wildlife Education and the Lamar Q Ball Jr. Raptor Center will mark their 10th anniversary with a special celebration on Saturday, Oct. 27. Free and open to the public, the schedule of events will appeal to children and adults who wish to enjoy the Wildlife Center’s commitment to stimulating an appreciation of the impact of wildlife and wilderness on the quality of human existence. This anniversary celebration is our way of thanking our friends and supporters for 10 great years,” said Steve Hein, the director of the Wildlife Center. “Without them, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish our mission of creating an environmental and wildlife education experience that is truly unique in this part of the country.” The Wildlife Center’s anniversary celebration will run from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m. A variety of games and activities for the kids will be offered through 5 p.m., and free food and drinks will be available through 5:30 p.m. Naturalist Steve Scruggs will present a wildlife conservation program that will run from 3 p.m. until 3:45 p.m. The founder of “Let’s Get Wild,” a non-profit organization that provides outdoor education to young people, he will discuss man’s role in managing wildlife in an ethical and responsible manner. Scruggs will use various mounted species, feathers and antlers in his presentation, which will concentrate on laws, funding, management practices, predators and prey, and endangered species. Scruggs will host “Snakes Alive” from 4 p.m. until 4:45 p.m. This presentation will focus on snake identification. Okefenokee Joe, a world-renowned expert in field herpetology, will host “Earth Day Every Day” from 5:15 p.m. until 6 p.m. In this snake-awareness presentation, the often-misunderstood reptiles will safely represent nature, tell the true story of all wildlife, and demonstrate how man can and must coexist with the natural world. C.W. Wathen, the founder of the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in Dahlonaga, Ga., will host “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” from 6:15 p.m. until 7 p.m. Wathen will educate the audience on a menagerie of live animals that includes a leopard, lynx, lemur, puma and wolf. In addition, a white Siberian tiger and grizzly bear from Chestatee will be on display. With Halloween right around the corner, young visitors can trick-or-treat in the campground from 7:15 p.m. until 8 p.m. Blending humor, education and breathtaking illusions, Magic Marc will perform from 8 p.m. until 8:45 p.m. Falcon Fireworks of Rincon, Ga. will conduct a fireworks exhibition from 8:45 p.m. until 9 p.m. A social that features refreshments and music by Ryan Kelly will run from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. Founded in October 1997, the Wildlife Center occupies five beautiful acres in the heart of the Georgia Southern University campus. A self-guided boardwalk tour winds through a wetlands area, an old-growth forest and a mountain display, providing visitors with a view of native raptors in their natural habitats, including an up-close look at a bald eagle. The center also features a children’s discovery trail with 17 stations; a 150-seat amphitheater is used for various wildlife programs and flight shows that feature birds of prey; and an indoor lecture hall used to conduct the reptile program, which includes a 12-foot Burmese python. The Wildlife Center is located on Forest Drive, just off of U.S. Highway 301 South. For more information, visit http://welcome.georgiasouthern.edu/wildlife/ or call (912) 681-0831.
Teacher Workshop was a "WILD" Adventure
June 2007
The Center for Wildlife Education recently received an Improving Teacher Quality Grant for professional development opportunities for teachers of Grades 3-5 and 7, and 9-12. This is a great opportunity for teachers to have hands-on live wildlife encounters in their classrooms to teach important life science principles based on the Georgia Performance Standards. This program is ideal for life science teachers as it provides wildlife artifacts (skulls, skins, specimens, and great teaching resources, etc.) and live animals to use in the classroom.
As part of the project, Wildlife in Science Education: WINS, we held two dynamic teacher workshops at the Wildlife Center: Grades 3-5 & 7 session June 4-8, and Grades 7 & 9-12 session June 18-22 with 3 PLU credits available for each session. The participants were fun and enthusiastic about this opportunity and the staff had a great time interacting with these wonderful professional educators!
During the 2007-08 school year, teachers will receive hands-on, inquiry-based activities to use in the classroom, will reserve a two week time period to utilize the wildlife artifact loan kit (delivered to them), as well as reserve a "Hands-on-Minds-on-Wildlife" in-class visit with Wildlife Center staff and live animals.
The Center is planning to host a third workshop, September 12-14, 2007. For more information, visit our website at:
http://welcome.georgiasouthern.edu/wildlife. Click on Upcoming Events and scroll down to “Successfully Completed Programs”. There you will find “Wildlife in Science Education: WINS” information and links. We hope to see more of our great formal educators participate in this unique opportunity!
UGA Vet Team Visits the Center
January 13-15, 2007
Georgia Southern University and the University of Georgia teamed up again this past weekend for the fifth annual medical examination on the animal collection at the Center for Wildlife Education. The Exotic Animal, Wildlife and Zoological Service of the Veterinary Teaching hospital at the University of Georgia traveled to Statesboro to assist in maintaining the health and welfare of the animals at the Center. In return, the experience provides an annual opportunity for UGA veterinary students to handle and examine species that are uncommonly presented at the veterinary hospital.
The objectives of the annual exam are to evaluate and advise on the maintenance of the health and welfare of the raptors, reptiles, amphibians and mammals in the Wildlife Center's collection, to re-evaluate the West Nile status of the raptors and determine whether there is an increase or decrease in seroprevalence, and to improve handling skills, physical examination procedures, blood sampling and fecal floatation techniques for raptors, reptiles and amphibians for the veterinary students and the staff at the Raptor Center. All animals were put into a temporary sleep using isoflourine anesthesia. Physicals were given, checking for proper joint movement, body condition, and foot condition. The eyes, noses, mouths and throats were also examined. Blood was drawn on all the animals for a full blood count to check for parasites and for the West Nile virus. Fecal exams were performed to check for intestinal parasites.
UGA's overall assessment of our animals is that, once again, the Georgia Southern University Center for Wildlife Education has a very healthy animal collection. The Center's wildlife collection is under the direct supervision of Scott Courdin, the Center's Wildlife Curator. Congratulations Scott and staff on a job well done!!!
Ball is new chairman of Wildlife Center’s Advisory Board
Nov. 1, 2006
Statesboro entrepreneur David Ball has been elected chairman of the advisory board for The Center for Wildlife Education and The Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center at Georgia Southern University.
Ball succeeds Frida Moore of Savannah as the chair of the advisory board, which plays a key role in fundraising efforts for the Wildlife Center. “David has always been one of our most enthusiastic and generous supporters, so we are delighted that he has agreed to take on this important leadership role,” said Steve Hein, the Director of the Wildlife Center.
A native of Atlanta, Ball first came to Statesboro in 1974 as a student at Georgia Southern. In the early 1980s, he opened Archibald’s, which became one of the community’s most popular restaurants. Ball founded the Boys and Girls Club of Bulloch County and serves on the Bulloch County Board of Education. He is a member of the Rotary Club and serves on the board of directors for Sea Island Bank. In 2003, Ball received the Eagle Lifetime Achievement Award from the University’s Office of Alumni Relations.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes in Statesboro over the past 30 years, and the Wildlife Center is one of the best,” Ball said. “It brings a lot of people to our community and to the Georgia Southern campus, and it’s a great educational experience for people of all ages. “I really believe it’s a crown jewel for both Statesboro and the University.”
Occupying five acres in the heart of the Georgia Southern campus, the Wildlife Center opened in 1997. It is designed to support the University’s environmental education programs and to provide the region’s citizens with an up-close look at native animals and plants. The Center features a self-guided boardwalk tour that winds through a variety of habitats, including an old-growth forest, a wetlands area and a mountain display that allow visitors to see native raptors in their natural environments. A 150-seat amphitheater is used for live wildlife programs and flight shows that have proven to be very popular attraction with children. The Center also includes an indoor classroom that is used for educational programs and hands-on activities.
The Raptor Center bears the name of David Ball’s father. With the younger Ball at the helm of the advisory board, the Wildlife Center is preparing to break ground in January on an ambitious expansion project.
The new addition will feature a 45-foot high aviary that will house a variety of songbirds. The addition will also include a water fowl pond for ducks and wading birds such as herons and storks, plus a wetlands area that is expected to attract a number of migratory species. The project is scheduled to be completed in Fall 2007. "When the expansion is complete,” Ball said, “we will have as fine a wildlife center as there is anywhere in the southeastern United States.”
The Wildlife Center is located on Forest Drive, just off of U.S. Highway 301. The Center is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. every Monday through Friday, and from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. every Saturday.
For more information, visit http://welcome.georgiasouthern.edu/wildlife or call (912) 681-0831.