Anyone who grew up in Seminole County in the last three decades remembers the fun and the excitement of going to the Seminole County Public School’s Environmental Studies Center to learn about the environment and have an absolutely filthy fun time sloshing through the mud, the highlight of their fifth grade program lovingly known as, “The Mud Walk.” First Graders enjoy their own exciting program, with glimpses of what is to come as they see the fifth graders return, laughing and comparing Mud Walk stories.
However, because of severe legislative budget cuts, funding for this and several other programs has been reduced or even eliminated. Thankfully, despite significant challenges, the Seminole County School Board was able to keep the Center open, but with reduced programming. The $135,000 budget will keep the center open and provide staff for one day of the two-day fifth grade program. And first graders won’t get to go at all.
The Friends of the Environmental Studies Center, a group of concerned citizens, and School officials have been working to save the Environmental Studies Center programs. They are planning community fundraising events, seeking corporate assistance and looking for individuals who are willing to help bring back the full curriculum for both fifth and first graders county-wide.
The Environmental Studies Center Program Funding Committee is trying to raise $22,000 by August 1 to bring back that all-important second day for fifth grade, and another $41,000 by September 1, to return first graders to the program as well as keeping all the other Environmental Studies Center programs going for another year. They are also looking for ways to finance the curriculum for years to come so that future budget cuts won’t mean a cut in the program.
UPDATE August, 2008: More of the cost of busses for field trips will be charged to the schools, thereby decreasing the amount needed for us to pay by almost $3,000. This changes our goal for fifth grade to $19,000, and for first grade to $38,000.
As of August 12, the goal for fifth grade has been reached, and the MudWalk as we know it has been saved for the 2008-2009 school year!!! Details are being worked out for full implementation.
Update November 1: Many First Grade Programs have been scheduled! Due to the uncertainty and the late date offering programs, some first grade classes had made other plans for their field trip. We hope to have full programming to offer schools at the beginning of the 2009-210 school year.
Before the school board budget hearings, thousands of people who had been on the Mud Walk or whose children had had the opportunity, went online to sign a petition, pleading with the board to save the Mud Walk for future generations. Many wrote notes telling of how that one two-day event helped direct them into a science or environmental career or to take a more active role in caring for the environment.
A school facility in a public park, The Seminole County Environmental Studies Center is a joint effort of the
Seminole County Public Schools and the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners. It is located in Soldiers Creek Park, part of Spring Hammock Nature Preserve, on County Road 419 near Highway 17-92. The trails and picnic areas in the park are open to the public from sunrise to sunset every day. A mile walk or bike ride down the main trail leads to a boardwalk that winds through a swamp to a view of Lake Jesup.
To find out more about the Mud Walk program, and the efforts to save it or to learn more about the Environmental Studies Center, call Deborah Harris, Environmental Education Specialist, at 407-320-0467. To contact the Friends group, e-mail at <Friends_Env_St_Ctr(at)cfl.rr.com>.
