Welty’s Great Stateline EE Partners

Remember, EE means environmental education, and it is the focus of Welty Environmental Center’s mission.  We have been connecting people with nature for 20.5 years, but we certainly haven’t been doing it alone!  One of my favorite things about our work is all the great organizations we partner with to bring EE to everyone. Some of our long-time collaborators include: the School District of Beloit, Beloit College, City of Beloit, various Rock County Conservationists, and  Nygren Wetlands Preserve. (Below is last summer’s Stateline Boys and Girls Club day camp)

Recent Stateline area partners

In the past few years, we have increased our programming with local service organizations, such as: the Stateline Boys and Girls Club, Community Action, Inc., the YWCA, Head Start, and Nature at the Confluence.  Whether these groups came to us, or we did an offsite program for them, Welty was able to work with new groups of people. We got to share our favorite parts of nature, and they helped us develop meaningful activities for their participants. Oftentimes, we were the lucky recipient of grants to build these partnerships (Stateline Community Foundation–CAI overnights; Alliant Energy Foundation and the Morse Foundation–SBGC day camp; Hendricks Family Foundation–Head Start field trips; the Beloit Rotary Club–NATC stream monitoring supplies).

Fun partner activities in early May

We are waiting to see what this summer will hold regarding camps and public programs. Since we can’t get together right now, we’ve put together some virtual partnerships to keep you–and us–connected, engaged, and outside. Check out these fun activities on Welty’s facebook page:

• Beloit College: Ask an Expert, Ken Yasukawa on Red-wing Blackbirds (4/28)
• Stateline Kids: Investigate water tension using a penny (4/29)
• “Hoo” Haven: Meet a raptor, since we can’t host Hoo Have at Big Hill (upcoming) 
• Rock County Conservationists: Play wildflower bingo on your own hike (upcoming)
• Tonto National Monument, Arizona: Meet Ranger Steve, a Beloit native (upcoming)

Brenda Plakans Executive Director, WEC
info@weltycenter.org
608-361-1377