Open Barn Weekend at Celebrity Dairy

Celebrity Dairy outside of Siler City is having an Open Barn Weekend March 12 and 13, from noon to five, both days. A few times a year they open the farm to visitors. Right now it's all about baby goats! Births started and January and continue through the Spring. The farm had 90 "kids" born last Spring, and are expecting as many as 160 kids for 2011.

For more information go to: http://www.celebritydairy.com/index.html

Students Raise Money to "Feed the Fishes" at N.C. Aquarium

Swansboro Elementary recently held a school dance to benefit the animals and programs at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

Story includes great video of the student council presenting the money!

President releases America's Great Outdoors Report

In April of 2010, President Barack Obama announced the America's Great Outdoors Initiative to help reconnect Americans to nature. Of particular interest to the administration was the relationship between children and nature, warranting a separate report of responses gathered during 21 youth listening sessions. Young people showed a strong desire to spend more time outdoors, and talked about challenges that made outdoor recreation difficult or inaccessible to them. Some saw parks as uninviting or irrelevant because they or their families lacked environmental knowledge or lacked the means to travel to distant parks. They worried about the safety of parks or how they could even reach one. Government jobs in conservation are hard to find and daunting to apply to, and there isn't enough outdoor education or recreation in schools to make youth feel comfortable in nature.The youth had suggestions for improving their experience with nature, too. For a copy of the Youth Report go to: http://americasgreatoutdoors.gov/files/2011/02/AGO-Youth-Report-2-7-11.pdf

Good to Grow promotes children getting active and outside

Good to Grow! is a campaign launched by the Association of Children's Museums to educate museum visitors about the importance of a healthy and active childhood. The campaign recognizes four tenets for raising healthy kids: healthy food choices, increasing physical activity, limiting screentime, and nurturing a lifelong connection to the outdoors.

For more information, go to: http://www.goodtogrow.org/Default.aspx