Friends of Hemlock Bluffs Scholarship Fund

Children are the focus of the Nature Program Scholarship Fund.  Over the years, the program has improved and expanded to provide educational opportunities for groups of children in need.  The goal of the Fund is to provide nature programs, at the Preserve, to disadvantaged youngsters, for the purpose of fostering a love of nature, raising the environmental consciousness level, and encouraging environmental conservation and protection.  We hope that the benefactors of the program will become more engaged with their natural environment through the augmented understanding and positive personal experiences that the Program provides.

Our education program includes personal encounters with nature, (indigenous animals, plants and natural processes), a staff-led educational session, a nature-oriented craft, and a chance to explore the environment.  The professional biologists at Hemlock Bluffs determine the curriculum and teach the group, and the Friends of Hemlock Bluffs volunteers help with the organization, logistics, and hands-on experience.

The target community for these scholarships are the clusters of children who do not normally have access to this Preserve, or to any park or natural environment.  Our experience has taught us that there are many young children who have no knowledge, understanding or even awareness of biology, ecology, or earth science.  We try to seek out the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised and offer the opportunity to them.

Recipients of the program in 2010 and 2011 include Head Start, and the Boys & Girls Club. 

If you know of any group of children in need of programming, please notify the Friends or mention it at the Stevens Nature Center, the next time you are taking a walk.