[ Music ] >> Hi. I'm Melanie Biersmith, Statewide Coordinator for Georgia 4-H Environmental Education. As a part of the University of Georgia, we're one of the largest environmental education programs in the nation. I'm here today because I want to share the power of the Georgia 4-H environmental education experience with you.
[ Music ] >> Environmental education began at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center in 1979. Over the last 30 years, our program has expanded to five locations across the state and has served more than 800,000 young people. Our five 4-H centers serve students in Kindergarten through 12th grade, providing an amazing variety of day and residential educational experiences. The curriculum at each of our five centers is aligned with the most current Georgia state standards, and it's delivered in a hands-on manner by a highly trained staff and allows learning to come alive for all of your students. >> This word, "ecology," is kind of special. >> While we focus primarily on the sciences and ecology, we also build programs to order to address your students' specific needs, history, team building, language arts, and math. No order is too tall for our highly trained environmental education instructors.
>> Speaking of suiting your needs, Georgia 4-H centers are spread clear across our beautiful state. >> Georgia 4-H provides field studies focusing on the mountains, the rich Georgia piedmont, and marine science on the coast. No matter your environmental education focus, there's a Georgia 4-H center for you. Wahsega 4-H Center is in the North Georgia Mountains, located just outside Dahlonega, and is a beautiful place to connect, with cool mountain streams and the rich history of the first Gold Rush site in the United States. >> That's a small dragonfly. >> All right, so if our water starts here, what happens first? Where does it go? >> Fortson 4-H Center is located in Hampton, just beyond the Atlanta Motor Speedway and serves as Atlanta's outdoor classroom. Fortson is an oasis for learning, with its 77 acres of wooded land, challenge course -- >> I'm zipping on the zip line. >> -- And ponds for outdoor study. >> Like my mock? Nice mock, huh?
>> Rock Eagle, the largest 4-H center in the world, is in the heartland of Georgia, just outside of Eatonton. Students visiting Rock Eagle can experience pioneer life, forest, stream and lake ecology, live birds, and 1,500 acres of the prettiest outdoors that Georgia has to offer. Burton 4-H Center is one of two Georgia 4-H coastal sites, located just outside of Savannah, on Tybee Island. >> Oh man, there's rocks. >> Classes at Burton focus on beaches, marshes, and how humans interact with these fragile ecosystems. And finally, Jekyll Island 4-H Center is located just outside Brunswick, on the southern end of the Georgia Coast. >> I love this camp. >> This pristine barrier island is an ideal location to study the dynamics of our coastal ecosystem. Jekyll also features Tidelands Nature Center directly adjacent to our facility. Tidelands is open to the public and offers coastal exhibits, aquaria, canoe rentals, and guided kayak trips. >> One thing remains constant. No matter which 4-H center you visit, the programming you receive will be of the highest quality.
>> The educational experience at each 4-H center is distinctive and unforgettable and offers something unique for you and your students. >> 4-H is awesome. >> As an educator today, you have your hands full, struggling to balance standards and the need for accountability with providing high quality educational experiences for your students. We believe that an outdoor field study can be key in this regard. >> You're gonna figure out, first, how to travel a certain bearing. >> Yeah. >> The relationship-enhancing experience that a 4-H environmental education program inspires between teachers and students -- >> We're going on a zip line. >> -- Can be nothing short of life changing. >> We form such a bond together. They don't typically get to see a teacher outside of the classroom. >> Please visit georgia4h.org and look at each 4-H center's individual website providing our most current trip planning information. >> As a team of environmental education professionals, we are also available to come meet with you at your school. Please contact me if I can help you in any way. We'd like to invite you to experience Georgia's classroom without walls. [ Music ]
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