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Published on 08/26/13

Watson-Brown Foundation awards grant to Rock Eagle 4-H Center

By Matt Hammons

Rock Eagle 4-H Center’s environmental education program has received a $7,525 grant from the Milledgeville Chapter of the Watson-Brown Foundation Junior Board of Trustees.

The grant will be used to fund the renovation of the Elizabeth House at the Scott Site, Rock Eagle’s pioneer home site. The building will be converted from a saddlebag-style home to a general store and living quarters. The new general store will be used as part of Rock Eagle’s living history program.

“The goal of the Scott Site is to provide students the chance to explore life at the turn of the century. The general store will give students the opportunity to learn how early settlers traded goods and services,” said Matt Hammons, coordinator of Rock Eagle’s environmental education program. “This expansion will allow us to not only teach about the home site, but the community as well.”

The environmental education program was implemented at Rock Eagle in 1979. It was later expanded to include four other 4-H centers across the state. The five centers currently serve more than 40,000 students annually, making it the largest residential program of its kind in the nation. The program has been designated a state and national learning model, drawing students and teachers from more than 500 schools and six southeastern states.

Over the past decade, Rock Eagle 4-H Center and the Milledgeville Chapter of the Watson-Brown Foundation Junior Board of Trustees have partnered on multiple projects at the Scott Site. These projects include the restoration of a pioneer house and the installation of a well and hand-pump. The most recent collaboration resulted in the construction of a privy and functioning smokehouse, two structures essential to life on the farm during Georgia’s pioneer days.

For more information on Georgia 4-H's Rock Eagle center, visit www.rockeagle4h.org/.

Matt Hammons is a program coordinator at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Ga.

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