By Jessica Tuggle
jtuggle@hometownnewsol.com
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - With a new season comes a new schedule of events and programs at the Environmental Learning Center for adults and children.
The 2009-10 program guide for the nonprofit education center has been released and once again includes environmental- themed workshops and lectures, the education director said.
"We had awesome, I mean really good responses from last year's lecture series," said Heather Stapleton, education director.
The overwhelming majority of programming at the ELC is geared toward children and families, but the lecture series was the first opportunity the organization had to directly target adults, she said.
"We had seven lectures last year and 65 percent of the participants rated them as excellent and another 25 percent rated them very good. For this year, we want to improve on our already good ratings," she said.
One of the more popular classes at the ELC last year was about edible landscaping or home gardening.
A similar class, about eating locally grown foods, will be given this year in two parts, Ms. Stapleton said.
The lecture will be presented in conjunction with Indian River State College and participants will have the opportunity to learn about local growers and what they provide, as well as learning how to prepare meals.
Other talks in the lecture series include coastal archeology, environmental art and conservation photography.
Eight green living workshops will be presented this year, covering topics from growing edible mushrooms to ethical angling and composting redworms.
The workshops are hands-on and most are family-friendly, Ms. Stapleton said.
The lectures and workshops do have a cost associated with them, but the cost has been kept as low as possible, she added. Classes range in price from $10 to $50, depending on the class, according to the program guide.
"The whole idea is to get people to adopt a more environmentally friendly and sustainable living lifestyle. We provide the tools for change," Ms. Stapleton said.
For more information, visit www.discoverelc.org.