Roy Hyatt open house

 The Roy Hyatt Environment Center (RHEC Annual Open House) Service Learning Journal

By: Stephanie Ferguson

On October 12, 2013 I had the great occasion of volunteering at the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center RHEC Annual Open House. Escambia County houses the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center which is a wonderful place to learn all aspects of preserving our environment and teaching children in biology labs, and features a museum so our generation can be educated on what is occurring to our planet and what we can all do to help our only Earth. The RHEC Open House provided many great attractions for the public such as bird watching, tours, trails to hike, and one-on-one interaction with animals. It’s a wonderful way to bring the community together.

My job for the day was managing the food stand where people have made baked goods such as cookies, pie, gluten-free brownies, and Rice Krispies treats. We also had food from Publix such as croissants, doughnuts, chips, and soda. I also helped make and serve hot dogs that were being sold for a dollar each and the money went to donations for the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center for research. After selling food to all the customers, we had collected over four hundred dollars in donations. I felt great helping to raise money for a wonderful cause that will help the environment.

From this wonderful experience, I can relate it to Chapter 26: Urbanization and Sustainable Communities which discusses how cities and communities who use green strategies can benefit the civilians, businesses, and last but not least, the environment. I learned many lessons from this great experience by helping the community work together to help preserve our valuable Earth and to teach the public what is happening to our environment, which will fall apart if we don’t all act as a community to save our only planet and for future generations to have clean air, water, and good quality of life.