Homework Fun with the ARC

By: Amy Swinford, Audubon Resource Center Coordinator

Did you know that the Audubon Resource Center at Lettuce Lake Park (ARC at the Park) has educational materials you can use to help with your homework? Operated in cooperation with the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department and the Conservation and Environmental Lands Management Department, the ARC displays wildlife native to the Hillsborough River Watershed and provides a variety of environmental education programs and activities for all age groups. Our team of volunteer docents greet visitors, assist with wildlife and plant identification, and offer our younger guests do-it-yourself arts & crafts projects, coloring sheets, and other age appropriate materials to encourage their curiosity and foster a connection to the natural world.

Javon's Eastern Screech-Owl habitat box

The coloring sheets are copies of sketches drawn by David Sibley, a leading ornithologist and author of The Sibley Guide to Birds, one of the most comprehensive guides to North American birds. Coloring sheets available at the ARC include birds found at the park, such as the Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, and Eastern Screech-Owl. The coloring sheets are fan favorites with the kids and are often used to complete homework assignments, as exemplified by Javon Chisolm when building an Eastern Screech-Owl habitat box for a class at Folsom Elementary School in Thonotosassa.

Great job Javon! (Photo provided by Tara McCarty - Javon’s mom).