Summer Edition - Birmingham

ReNews
SEC Newsletter
Building sustainable
communities one
step at a time—The
Southern Environmental
Center (SEC) strives to show
individuals how they can
protect and improve their
local environment.
Come visit our awardwinning Interactive Museum
and Ecoscape Garden on
the Birmingham-Southern
Campus. Tours are available
for groups both large and
small.
Plan your next special
event, meeting, or child’s
birthday party with us. For
rate information, please
call (205) 226-4934 or
email rhazelho@bsc.edu.
Summer 2015
It has been a great spring for the Southern Environmental Center. The
Darter Festival, held April 18 at Railroad Park, was our most successful
ever. All proceeds will go to help Turkey Creek and to protect the three
species of endangered darter fish that live there (you can read more
about the Vermillion Darter below).
We’re launching this e-newsletter to help keep you up-to-date on everything going on at the SEC, the Ecoscapes, Turkey Creek Nature Preserve,
and around the region. For more information, check us out on Facebook
and Twitter; follow our new feed on Instagram to see what’s blooming
today.
Roald Hazelhoff
Director, SEC
What a fancy little fish!
The Vermillion Darter can only be found in one place on earth—our own Turkey Creek. Come
Float Your Boat at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve’s summer festival on July 18th and you’ll
have a blast while supporting this beautiful creature. You can watch the balsa wood boats race
or build your own boat to enter. The city of Pinson will host its annual Beat the Heat Ice Cream
Give Away and there will be a kid’s zone, food, drinks, music, and more. Like Turkey Creek on
Facebook for updated times and other details.
Turkey Creek Preserve
Did you know Turkey Creek Nature Preserve is gaining
recognition for the natural and recreational wonder
it provides? Al.com readers named the falls as a “top
place to visit” this summer. Come beat the heat in the
cool, clean, flowing waters of the creek!
Figs &
rosemary at
Rojo
Join us on July 16 at Rojo
for a special evening
celebrating the bounty
of the harvest, featuring
Ecoscape fig and goat
cheese salad and
cocktails infused with
rosemary. All proceeds
will support the SEC’s
environmental education
programs. Check our
website for more details
coming soon!
The Hugh Kaul Ecoscape
and the medicinal garden
there are in full bloom.
Check out the beautiful
flower of the pricklypear cactus (Opuntia
humifusa). This small
plant packs a punch!
The fruit is edible and
contains vitamin C and
magnesium. It also has
traditional medicinal
uses, including to treat
warts, kidney stones,
gout, inflammation
reduction, and to heal
wounds. Ongoing studies
show that extracts from
the prickly pear may
help fight diabetes, high
cholesterol, and viruses.
Check our Facebook page
for more details!
Follow us
www.myecoscapes.org
Sims Ecoscape
Turkey Creek
The Sims Garden in Homewood enjoyed a successful Spring Open House
on May 3. New and old friends came to visit the garden and see what’s
growing there. The orchard is coming along, with blueberries, apples,
peaches, blackberries, persimmons, and figs all growing. Friends and
neighbors should soon be able to stroll the grounds and enjoy some
of the bounty! The garden is open to the public Fridays, Saturdays, and
Sundays from 10 a.m. to dusk. Stop by and welcome the new caretakers, Ian
Hazelhoff and Gaby Spangenberg, and like us on Facebook for updates!