Summer Camps at the Ebersole Center The Ebersole Center is offering two exciting summer camp programs for campers of all ages. These camps give kids the opportunity to explore the outdoors while gaining an appreciation for nature. Ebersole Center summer camp programs are planned and operated by experienced naturalists so campers have a great time while staying safe. Campers experience all the fun of traditional summer camp while learning about the outdoors. Ebersole camps are open to all young people, regardless of their school district. A limited number of partial and full scholarships are available from the Lansing Educational Advancement Foundation (LEAF) for Lansing School District students. Applications are available from the Ebersole Center office. Adventure Camp June 12-16 | Students 9-11 years old | $200 person/week A five-day, four-night residential camping experience for school children. Campers have fun swimming in Gun Lake, canoeing, playing games, doing arts and crafts, hiking the sand dunes of Lake Michigan, and testing their skills in archery. Campers will also enjoy learning about trees, insects, aquatic crea- tures, and animal tracks. In the evening there are hayrides in the woods, fish- ing and making new friends while roasting marshmallows and telling stories around the campfire. This is a great chance for first time campers to come and experience the outdoors! Campers can catch the bus in Lansing on Monday morning or have their parents drop them off at the Ebersole Center. Explorer Camp June 12-16 | Students 12–14 years old | $200 person/week A five-day, four-night camping experience at a rustic campsite on Ebersole prop- erty for middle school students. Campers will enjoy hiking at Yankee Springs recreation Area and cooling off while swimming in Gun Lake. They’ll go fishing for bluegills and bass at the Center’s private Jackson Lake. Back at camp, there’s an opportunity to shoot a bull’s eye on the archery range, cook hot dogs and s’mores over a campfire, hear stories and make a craft project. There will also be a day trip to Lake Michigan to experience the sand dunes and a canoe trip down the Thornapple River will round out the week. On Monday morning campers can catch the bus in Lansing and head for the Ebersole Center. Round trip bus transportation from Lansing will be available for the Adventure and Explorer Camps. The bus departs from and returns to the Gardner Middle School parking lot. Cost of the bus transportation is $35. Scholarships are available for both camps and applications are due May 5, 2006. The camp registration deadline is June 2, 2006. Call (517) 325-6348 to obtain brochures, scholarship applications, and registration forms. Vernon D. Ebersole Environmental Education and Conference Center Spring 2006
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Summer Camps at the Ebersole CenterThe Ebersole Center is offering two exciting summer camp programs for campers of all ages. These camps give kids the opportunity to explore the outdoors while gaining an appreciation for nature. Ebersole Center summer camp programs are planned and operated by experienced naturalists so campers have a great time while staying safe. Campers experience all the fun of traditional summer camp while learning about the outdoors.
Ebersole camps are open to all young people, regardless of their school district. A limited number of partial and full scholarships are available from the Lansing Educational Advancement Foundation (LEAF) for Lansing School District students. Applications are available from the Ebersole Center office.
Adventure Camp
June 12-16 | Students 9-11 years old | $200 person/week
A five-day, four-night residential camping experience for school children. Campers have fun swimming in Gun Lake, canoeing, playing games, doing arts and crafts, hiking the sand dunes of Lake Michigan, and testing their skills in archery. Campers will also enjoy learning about trees, insects, aquatic crea-tures, and animal tracks. In the evening there are hayrides in the woods, fish-ing and making new friends while roasting marshmallows and telling stories around the campfire. This is a great chance for first time campers to come and experience the outdoors! Campers can catch the bus in Lansing on Monday morning or have their parents drop them off at the Ebersole Center.
Explorer Camp
June 12-16 | Students 12–14 years old | $200 person/week
A five-day, four-night camping experience at a rustic campsite on Ebersole prop-erty for middle school students. Campers will enjoy hiking at Yankee Springs recreation Area and cooling off while swimming in Gun Lake. They’ll go fishing for bluegills and bass at the Center’s private Jackson Lake. Back at camp, there’s an opportunity to shoot a bull’s eye on the archery range, cook hot dogs and s’mores over a campfire, hear stories and make a craft project. There will also be a day trip to Lake Michigan to experience the sand dunes and a canoe trip down the Thornapple River will round out the week. On Monday morning campers can catch the bus in Lansing and head for the Ebersole Center.
Round trip bus transportation from Lansing will be available for the Adventure and Explorer Camps. The bus departs from and returns to the Gardner Middle School parking lot. Cost of the bus transportation is $35.
Scholarships are available for both camps and applications are due May 5, 2006. The camp registration deadline is June 2, 2006. Call (517) 325-6348 to obtain brochures, scholarship applications, and registration forms.
V e r n o n D . E b e r s o l e E n v i r o n m e n t a l E d u c a t i o n a n d C o n f e r e n c e C e n t e r S p r i n g 2 0 0 6
Teambuilding at Eastern High SchoolThe Ebersole Center has been working on launching new outreach programs this winter season. Teambuilding in the Classroom is one of the new programs offered by the Center staff. In January, Ebersole Center staff provided teambuilding training for the Eastern High School freshmen. The freshman class at Eastern is divided into small learning groups that help students get a better sense of community within a large high school. Each day a different learning community spent the morning with Ebersole staff working to strengthen their communication skills, listening skills, and cooperation with each other. Trust, diversity and decision-making also played a key role in the student’s abilities to complete the activities.
The tasks that were assigned to the groups started early in the morning and as the day progressed the tasks became much more challenging, pushing the students to utilize everything they had learned. As facilitators, the Center staff were able to observe the students’ progress throughout the day. We saw the shy student in the corner develop an idea and lead the group to success. This was a very positive experience for the students and teachers at Eastern and also for Ebersole staff. The Eastern High School teachers felt the team building activities helped students develop skills needed to work together within their smaller learning communities.
If you are interested in booking a teambuilding experience in your school for teachers or students please contact the Center at (517) 325-6348 or email at [email protected].
Banquet in a BlizzardBy John Schimmel, Ebersole Foundation Chair
It was the “worst of nights... and the best of nights” for 170 hardy souls who braved the blizzard of February 4, 2006 to support our third annual “Give Your Heart to Ebersole... 50’s Style” banquet. Despite the weather, it was our most successful auction ever! We grossed over $28,000 and netted approx-
imately $20,000 after expenses. This exceeds our results from last year. More than 150 items were auctioned or raffled off including U of M vs. MSU football tickets, a kayak, trips to various other sporting events, original art pieces, jewelry, an “Owl Prowl,” nature hikes, special dinners, and lots of gift certificates to many local eateries. Because of the “50’s” theme, we were treated to the view of a nostalgic ’56 Chevy coupe, an old fashioned “50’s” style TV dinner, the candy we all remember from our childhood, and even our very own soda fountain complete with a “soda jerk.” Following the auction, the evening was topped off with the music of the “Oldies but Goodies” band. It truly did become the best of nights... as many of us had a chance to walk down memory lane and benefit the Ebersole Center, too! Mark your calendars now to join us next year, Saturday, February 3, 2007 as we again celebrate the Center with our “Give Your Heart to Ebersole... Safari Style.”
However, none of this wonderful evening could have occurred without the many people who made it possible. We thank all of you who attended and generously purchased all the items, and of course the many donors and sponsors whose contributions created the great selection of items to purchase. A very special thanks goes out to Senator Debbie Stabenow for serving as our Honorary Chair this year, to Kip Bohne and Jane Aldrich, our host and hostess for the evening and to Bob Howe who served as our auctioneer. Special recognition was given to long time friend of the Center, Lyle Stephens by Kellie Dean, our Development Chair, who honored him with a corporate gift of $10,000... thanks again to Kellie.
The proceeds from the banquet combined with this year’s contribution from the Dart Foundation means that we have raised approximately $80,000 toward this year’s payment of $112,000 needed by August 2nd. And, with $32,000 yet to go, it also means that our work is not done. It is with this in mind that I’d like to suggest that if you haven’t taken the opportunity to help the Foundation with your gift for this year, please consider doing so soon. We are currently over half way toward paying off the property we are pur-chasing and the sooner we accomplish that goal, the sooner we can begin fundraising for supporting kids and top quality environmental education programs at Ebersole. We still need your help so consider writing a check today!
News
Photo courtesy of Dave Grist
Photo courtesy of Dave Grist
Another rare and valuable species is found
in Ebersole grandfriendimus, Mike Kost.
Mike has been a devotee of the Ebersole
Center since he was first invited to sit
on the Ebersole Advisory Committee by
previous Site Coordinator, Paul Babladelis.
Since then, he has not only served on the
Advisory Board but is currently serving
on the Foundation Board and was the
Foundation’s first secretary. He is also
our resident ecologist.
Currently, Mike is the Ecology Program
Leader for the Michigan Natural Features
Inventory, Michigan State University-
Extension. As Program Leader, he supervises
seven staff ecologists, prepares grant
proposals and plans and implements
systematic inventories for exemplary
natural communities. It was in this
capacity that Mike first became acquainted
with Ebersole and found it to be a rare
jewel for the richness and diversity that is
found on the tiny 158 acre parcel we call
Ebersole. Mike’s exuberance for the
uniqueness and the variety of species
located at Ebersole is matched only by his
willingness to protect and preserve what
he considers to be one of the most
valuable natural resources in southern
Michigan. Mike has played the lead role of
establishing our first two “Stewardship
Work Days” at the Center where he trained
and supervised dozens of volunteers to
assist with removal of “invasive species”
in the fen and prairie and is coordinating
our first “prairie burn” in many years. We
are extremely grateful for Mike’s volunteer
efforts on behalf of the Center and his
commitment to high quality environmental
education that is making Ebersole
the premier Center for ecological studies
in Michigan.
Lansing Office519 W. KalamazooLansing, MI 48933
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TidBits
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New Ebersole Center WebsiteThe Ebersole Center has launched a new website with the help of Center naturalist Jason Byler. The site has a new look and layout to highlight many of the different programs the Center has to offer. If you get the opportunity, check out the new site at: http://ebersole.lansingschools.net.
Welcome Spring Camping groupsWe have a busy spring planned and we would like to offer a special thank you to the schools and organizations that have booked their programs with the Ebersole Center. We appreciate your support.
Lansing School District participants are: Fairview, Wexford, Riddle, Mt. Hope, Attwood, Cavanaugh, Sheridan Road, and North Elementary Schools and Otto and Dwight Rich Middle Schools.
Non-district schools and organizations are: Lowell Murray Lake School, Resurrection, Holt Midway, St. Gerard, Bath, Detroit Butzel Middle School, Okemos Painters group, and Madison Ave. Missionary Baptist Church.
EarthBeat by EmailIf you are interested in receiving your EarthBeat via email, please notify the Center at [email protected]. This is a great way to save printing costs and valuable resources.
“Ebersole contains
ten distinct natural
communities, with three
recognized statewide for
their pristine quality. The
prairie fen along Jackson
Lake is particularly diverse,
with numerous springs,
nearly one-hundred species
of plants, and three state-
listed rare animal species.”
–Mike Kost Ecologist
EarthBeat is a seasonal publication of the Ebersole EnvironmentalEducation and Conference Center, owned and operated by theLansing School District. Editor: Lisa Gallinari
Editorial Assistance: Deborah Neal
Contributions: Jason Byler, Mike Kost, JoAnn Robinson & John Schimmel
Design: McNenly Group
Ebersole Environmental Education and Conference Center3400 2nd Street, Wayland, MI 49348Phone: 517.325.6348 or 269.792.6294e-mail: [email protected]: http://ebersole.lansingschools.net
