Nacogdoches, Texas (KTRE) – Current and former SFA professors are preparing to take Nacogdoches students on their first adventure with the East Texas Adventure Girls Academy of Environmental Sciences.

Dr. Sarah Straub, SFA Professor and East Texas Adventurers Program Director, is thrilled to take the girls out into the wilderness.

“The focus of that grant is to provide a range of wildlife opportunities for a range of groups that might otherwise not have access to these things,” Straub said.

The Academy’s first adventure was a trip to Caddo Lake State Park and included events such as park rangers, camping, outdoor cooking, an interpreter program and canoeing to give the 25 girls a taste of the outdoors. increase. for these adventures.

“It’s small enough to build strong relationships, but big enough to bring in as many students as possible,” Straub says.

And girls learn valuable skills for the future.

“We are giving girls an experience they cannot get in a normal school life,” said Dr. Tonya Jeffery, Fellow Program Director and former SFA professor. “By providing these girls with outdoor environmental experiences, we are able to broaden their horizons and expose them to new careers,” she said.

There are four adventures throughout the year, two this fall, two in the spring.

“We wanted to highlight what East Texas has to offer when it comes to the outdoors,” Straub said. “That’s why we do Caddo Lake State Park, Mission He Tejas State Park, Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, and SFA’s Pineywood Native Plant Center.”

The program was made possible by program directors Straub, Jeffery, Dr. Summer Koltonski, Dr. Marisol Diaz, and a $58,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Service.

“Sarah and I were starting to write grants,” Jeffrey said. “I am a science educator and her background is in social studies education. I thought this would be a great collaboration.”

Applications for the program’s first adventure will be distributed to Nacogdoches students in homeroom next Monday, September 12th.

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