Quad City Enviro- Kids June 27, 2009

Quad City area children entering 3rd-5th grade this fall are invited to attend Enviro-Kids, a brand new environmental education program that will meet five Saturdays throughout the summer and end with a Friday night family camp-out in August.

“The purpose of Enviro-Kids is to teach youth all the ways they can have fun while being outdoors,” said Paula Mullin, education specialist for the iLivehere program.

The idea for the program stems from a similar program in Clinton County, Mullin said. “They have had great success with their program over the years, so we wanted to be able to offer something like it in the Quad Cities,” she said. The 2009 schedule for Quad City Enviro-Kids includes:

* June 27: Fishing & Water Safety at Vander Veer Park, 215 East Central Park Avenue, Davenport.

* July 11: Canoeing & Kayaking at West Lake Park, 14910-110th Street, Davenport.

* July 18: GPS Scavenger Hunt & Compasses at Nahant Marsh, 4220 Wapello Avenue, Davenport.

* August 1: Meet at Freight House Farmer’s Market, 421 West River Drive, Davenport, where we’ll learn about the importance of locally grown produce. Then we’ll travel to Miss Effie’s Farm near Donahue where we’ll see how the foods at Farmer’s Market ended up there. (Transportation to the Farm will be provided by City of Davenport Parks and Recreation and Scott County Conservation Board).

* August 15: Get wet and have fun while Creek Stomping with Amy Johannsen coordinator for Partners of County Watersheds. We’ll meet at Crow Creek in Bettendorf to learn about the creek, where it goes, test the water and catch some bugs! (Meeting location TBD).

* Friday, August 28 - Saturday, August 29: Overnight Family Camp-Out at Wapsi River Environmental Education Center, 31555 52nd Avenue, Dixon. Join us as we conclude the summer’s Enviro-Kids with a good old-fashioned camp-out complete with hiking, exploring and cooking over a campfire! Please bring your own tent. Some tents are available upon request. Dorm-room style sleeping is also available. (More details to come).
The cost for Enviro-Kids is a one-time fee of $5 per child, which covers their t-shirt and other incidental costs. Children can attend one or all of the Saturday programs. Parents or guardians will drop the child off at a new location for each program. Parents can accompany the child or return to pick them up when the program ends. Younger children can attend Enviro-Kids if accompanied by an adult.

For more information call 563-468-4218 or go to www.ilivehereqc.org to download the flier and registration form.

Official Website: http://http://www.ilivehereqc.org