[ Music ] >> Hi. I'm Matt Hammons, Environmental Education Coordinator at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center. Rock Eagle has been providing high quality environmental education programs for more than 30 years. I would like to invite you to experience Rock Eagle's Classroom without Walls.
[ Music ] >> Connecting with nature, exploring and experiencing are all part of an environmental education field study at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. The Rock Eagle 4-H Center has served youth across the Southeast for more than 50 years. It's the largest of five Georgia 4-H centers located from the mountains to the Atlantic seacoast. Rock Eagle is a campus of the University of Georgia; administered by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences along with Georgia 4-H. Our program began in 1979 and has served nearly three-quarters of a million students. Our special blend of knowledge and youth development experience, combined with enthusiastic college educated and trained staff, guarantees an exciting, fun, and educational experience for you and your students.
>> So this word, "ecology," is kind of special.
>> As an assistant principal, bringing the outside into our classroom is very difficult at times. Here at Rock Eagle, we're able to bring our children into the environment itself.
>> When students visit Rock Eagle, they often come with a lot of misconceptions of the natural world. And through our hands-on classes, we are able to clear a lot of that up.
>> Take those Georgia performance standards outdoors, and make learning come alive with our inquiry-based classes in living history, team building, outdoor skills and many aspects of ecology. Our courses conform with all current state guidelines.
>> Rock Eagle Environmental Education trip is an amazing adventure for our sixth grade students. We have over 300 students who come from two feeder schools, Montessori schools, private schools. They're all mixing for the first time. It's always a good opportunity for our students to get to know each other.
>> Whether you choose herpetology, lake ecology, or challenge course, canoeing or advanced team building, all of your students, visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learners become active participants in the Rock Eagle Environmental Education program.
>> For six years, we've been bringing students here to Rock Eagle. The trip is great. It is the highlight of our school year. Rock Eagle 4-H Center's Environmental Education program plays to the strengths of our children.
>> In the content that the faculty here has in the environmental program, our students have gained just a tremendous experience.
>> Rock Eagle proudly serves pre-K through 12th grade. We can provide programming for as little as one day, or up to a week. We offer a trip planner that includes pre and post trip activities, as well as journal questions that will enhance your students' learning experience.
>> We find the students who participate in the multi-day program experience a greater impact on their lives.
>> Need something extra? We will gladly work with you to adjust any of our classes to meet your individual teaching goals.
>> One of the great things about Rock Eagle is we work with teachers to pick classes that best meet your learning objectives.
>> At Rock Eagle, classroom curricula become real as students make connections in a way that just can't happen in a traditional classroom.
>> When they do actually find that first organism, or something cool that they've never seen, it's just really neat to see their face.
>> The environmental education trip provides an opportunity for students, who don't always get to see science in the environment, to come and to do hands-on experiences. It allows them to see snakes, reptiles, amphibians, to wander about the woods.
>> The invertebrate, right?
>> It's just a wonderful science adventure.
>> Speaking of connections, the greatest connection you will make at Rock Eagle is with your students. In a new environment, you will see them, and they you, in whole new way.
>> Last year, I had student we brought here. He struggles in the classroom. When we got here, herpetology, the hands popping in the air. He was excited. He knew what he was talking about. It changed our relationship when we got back into the classroom.
>> Teachers are often surprised at the way a field study positively affects student-teacher interaction, creating a bond that carries back over into the classroom and lasts long beyond the end of the school year.
>> The challenge course is really a great way to introduce teamwork and cooperation. Birding is a great way to explore the ecosystem. Our herpetology class focuses on Georgia's reptiles and amphibians.
>> Connecting with nature does much more than teach kids about trees and frogs. It allows them to explore, experience, and learn something new about themselves. Bring your students to Rock Eagle and see what a difference a field study can make in their education. The Rock Eagle Environmental Education Program, it's a natural fit.
>> We've shown you just a sample of the classes offered at Rock Eagle. For more information, please refer to our website at rockeagle4h.org. I'm Matt Hammons, and I hope to see you soon at Rock Eagle.
[ Voices and laughter ]