MCPSS Environmental Studies

The Environmental Studies Center is a natural sciences education facility designed to provide unique learning experiences. In addition, wildlife rehabilitation plays a vital role each day at the Center. Featuring over 500 acres of rich woodlands, the Center affords teachers, students, and the general public an opportunity to experience firsthand the natural environment. Natural resources include pine and bay forests, swamps, freshwater streams, carnivorous plant bog, and a twenty-acre lake.

Man-made resources include numerous nature trails, covered pavilions, live animal exhibits, butterfly garden, and native plant garden. Indoor facilities include an auditorium, library, classroom containing live reptile exhibits, a saltwater aquarium, and numerous preserved specimens native to Alabama.

The Environmental Studies Center houses a wildlife rehabilitation program that is dedicated to the care and potential release of injured and orphaned native wildlife. The wildlife rehabilitation program receives over 600 wild patients a year. These animals all need food, care, and shelter to survive. The program relies upon donations from people like you for its operation.

Numerous staff-led programs are available to public, private, and parochial schools. Teachers may choose from programs that are correlated to the Alabama Science Course of Study at each grade level. These programs include animal studies, plant studies, and STARLAB planetarium studies. All programs require advanced reservations and may be subject to group size limitations. Summer camp programs are also available.