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Pascagoula River Audubon Center
Moss Point, MS
events
Spring Into Summer at PRAC
Summertime, summertime, sum-, sum-, summertime!

The beginning of May marks the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer for school children, teachers and parents.  With flex schedules dominating most local school districts, summer is a bit shorter, and PRAC is planning accordingly.

All summer camps will be held during the month of June, but guests are welcome to visit for kayaking, shopping and bird watching.  Our summer hours will be Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., and weekends will be reserved for private venue rentals. 

Some space is still available for PRAC Discovery Summer Camps, but wait lists are being developed as well.  To register for summer camp, click HERE

Make sure to include PRAC as part of your summertime plans. 
sand
Tots and Audubon Academy have final sessions in May
After another successful year of educational programming for our youngest explorers in Nature Tots and our home school students in Audubon Academy, both programs will take a break for the summer and resume in August.

Nature Tots sessions are on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.  The program is designed for children ages 2 to 5 along with a caregiver and includes story time, a nature walk and arts and crafts.

Audubon Academy sessions are held on Wednesday per month and are separated for children in grades kindergarten through 2nd grade and 3rd to 5th grades.  The programs follow state science objectives and are customized to meet the needs and ages of the students.  

The final Audubon Academy session for the year will be on May 24, and Nature Tots will round out the year with sessions May 4, 11 and 18.

For more information about educational programs offered at PRAC, click HERE.

 
reception
Nature Photo Entries Amaze Judges
With 65 entries in the 2023 Nature Photography Contest hosted by the Pascagoula River Audubon Center, the judges had quite a task on their hands to choose the best in the landscape, nature and wildlife categories.

Meet these photographers and view all 65 entries at a photo exhibit reception on May 20, from 10 a.m. until noon.  Finalists in each category have been notified, and the top scorer in each category along with the PRAC favorite will be announced during the reception.

The reception is open to the public and light snacks will be served.  For more information, click HERE.  Information about the 2024 contest will be posted by December.  
raffle
Raffle is a Win-Win For All
Thanks to the donation of a Yeti Cooler from Wayne Lee’s and other donations from the PRAC advisory committee, a special “Spring into Summer” raffle is underway.  The cooler is filled with floats, towels, drinks, snacks, and other items to make your summer GREAT.  

Raffle tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20, and all proceeds go toward supplies for educational programs. The drawing will take place June 1 on Facebook Live.

To purchase tickets, stop by the Center or purchase online HERE.  
app
PRAC Shows Appreciation to Teachers/Educators
“The best teacher is not the one who knows most but the one who is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful.”
― H.L. Mencken

There are multiple quotes about the value of teachers and others who work in the education field, but regardless of the quotes, without a teacher, there would be no other careers. And for that reason, the Pascagoula River Audubon Center is hosting Teacher Appreciation After Hours and inviting others to join in the appreciation celebration.

The event is from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 11, and will include visitors from a variety of other organizations along with drinks, snacks, door prizes and networking.  Oh, and NO STUDENTS ALLOWED!

PRAC staff is accepting donations of door prizes and other monetary donations to help celebrate all teachers and those who work in the field of education.  To make donations, please contact PRAC at 228-475-0825.

For proper planning, please reserve your spot by clicking HERE to RSVP.
vase
Celebrate Mom with a Blown-Glass Vase
Create-your-own Glass Blowing Classes are a great way to make your own gifts while experiencing and learning about a craft that has been around for 2000 years. Join us for this amazing opportunity to craft your own decorative glass piece!  You will be designing the color, shaping the glass with heat and your own breath while working with professional glass worker with 21 years of experience, Solange Ledwith with Swamp Girl Glass Blowing. 

Solange will be featured in Women’s Day Magazine in a section in the magazine called Finding Joy where real women with great stories are featured.  For the upcoming August/September 2023 issue, Woman’s Day is highlighting Solange Ledweth as a women who navigated a great change in her life. 

This renowned artist is returning to the Pascagoula River Audubon Center May 19, 20 and 21from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide one-on-one sessions for guests to create vases.  The vase is a great gift for a Mother’s Day gift, and the session itself is also a great gift.  To register for mom, yourself or a mother/daughter/son event, click HERE. The sessions are $75 each, and all participants will receive the vase created during the session after it finishes “baking”.
plants
Native Plants...they are For the Birds!
As Native Plant Month comes to a close, the birds are the big winners as bird-friendly habitats are popping up everywhere.  

After a designation by the State legislature making April Native Plant Month, PRAC worked with all municipalities in the county along with the Jackson County Board of Supervisors to have resolutions developed to bring awareness to all residents.  This was the 4th Annual Spring Native Plant Sale at PRAC, and once again, it was a huge success sending out hundreds of bird-friendly species to landscapes across the gulf coast.  

The annual fall plant sale is scheduled for September 12-16.  
VR
Virtual Experiences Available at PRAC
Guests of all ages are exploring new places at PRAC with the addition of a Meta Oculus Virtual Reality Learning Station.  

Thanks to a donation by Chevron Pascagoula Refinery, six virtual reality goggles are now part of the River Room exhibits offering opportunities for deeper exploration into various birds, migration routes, virtual trips up the river, and bird-friendly landscapes.  The Virtual Reality world is growing with additional resources added regularly.

Stop by to take a virtual trip of your choice.
booth
Outdoor Facelift Underway at PRAC
The Children’s Nature Play Area at the Pascagoula River Audubon Center is getting an all-new look to provide extra opportunities for exploration while at the Center.  Along with the addition of permanent seating and the Mississippi Export train engine, the slid and climbing structure is being replaced with a more sturdy structure and the area is taking on extra real estate.

As the play area stretches to the current location of the Trolley Ticket Booth, that structure is making a move as well.  Its new location will be about 15 yards closer to Arthur Street where it will serve as an entrance to the grounds.  Once in place, repairs will be made to the structure to make it more sound.

These improvements will add to the experience at PRAC for visitors of all ages as staff plans for the future.
day
"Teaching Nature" Exhibit to feature the Art of Juli Day
Living along the Gulf Coast of Alabama has been a major influence in Juli‘s love of nature and the art she creates. Her earliest memories of loving nature were as a child walking along the Escawtawpa River and Dauphin Island with her father and exploring the hills around Lake Eden in Vermont.

The exhibit “Teaching Nature” will open in the Moss Point Fine Art Gallery on Thursday, May 25 and will remain until early August.  The reception will begin at 4:30 and is open to the public.  Light refreshments will be served. 


Juli’s inspiration comes from the quiet lush environments of woods, bogs, deltas, creeks, rivers and beaches. “While only a few steps or strokes from civilization, I become lost in the sounds and sights of areas only reached by foot or a quiet glide in my kayak” During these explorations Juli becomes focused on the botanicals and shore birds, sketching and taking photographs, to later use in expressing her deep connection with nature in her art.

Juli’s love of nature extends into her own yard in Mid Town Mobile where native plants and gardens create a quiet oasis to contemplate nature, read, sketch and paint. As an environmental naturalist, her focus is on teaching others the harm of invasive plants and the importance of reintroducing native plants at home.

Juli a retired art educator taught in numerous and diverse settings. Both public and private schools, local colleges, museums, she conducted summer camps and held private lessons for over twenty years. She continues to teach private lessons.

As an art educator Juli held board positions at the local, state, regional and national levels. She also presented art education workshops at local, state and national conferences. One of the highlights of her years as an art educator was being named AAEA Art Educator of the year.

Juli’s works, depicted in watercolor, acrylic, oil and ceramics, are representations of shore birds and botanicals from magical spots along the Gulf Coast.
nest
Shorebird Nesting Has Begun!
Activity along the shores is ramping up a bit early this year as members of the Delta Coastal Birding Stewards have already spotted nests of Least Terns and Snowy Plovers.  While these nests have to survive weather, raccoons and other elements of the beaches, the team is excited with the early activity and hopeful for survival.
save the date
Plans Underway for 2023 Hummingbird Festival
The 4th Annual Hummingbird Migration and Nature Festival is set for September 14-16, 2023, and will once-again feature Storyteller Brian “Fox” Ellis, the Bird Banders of the Americas, Hummingbird Happy Hour and the Freedom Ranch raptors.

This date also corresponds with the annual Fall Native Plant Sale and will welcome a wide variety of vendors. 

Stay tuned to updates and upgrades to this year’s events and invite family and friends to enjoy this signature event in Moss Point.
donate
Our Flock Continues to Grow
The success experienced this year at the Pascagoula River Audubon Center is thanks to the time, talent and treasure of members of our flock. There are so many ways to support PRAC through participating in events, making purchases in the gift shop, volunteering to help maintain plants and beds or educational experiences, or through monetary donations.

We invite all members of our flock to find a niche where you too can provide support to PRAC. Contact us at 228-475-0825 to inquire about volunteer opportunities or click HERE to make a monetary donation.

Thank you for support of all kinds.  
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Pascagoula River Audubon Center
5107 Arthur St., Moss Point, MS 39563
(228) 475-0825 | pascagoula.audubon.org

© 2024 National Audubon Society, Inc.

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