2026 Oconee Area Junior Naturalist Program

Naturalists are people who explore the natural world with curiosity and excitement. If that describes you, join us for 7 wild adventures! NOTE REGISTRATION CHANGE: Please list youth name as "ticket buyer", hopefully this REDUCES the quantity of info you need to enter for each youth. Complete checkout separately for each youth (but you should be able to get tickets for the entire series in one check-out!), and please fill out a participant form for each Junior Naturalist (fillable PDF or Google Form). This form only needs to be completed once for each participant. Ready to discover the wild world around us? Join our Junior Naturalist series, where we'll explore the sounds that shape our environment. From the trickling of water and the rustling of leaves to the calls of birds and the buzz of insects, we'll dive into the secrets of water quality, rocks, wildlife, and plants. Whether you’re interested in geology, herpetology, or botany, every session will bring new adventures and fun discoveries for kids ages 8-13. Let’s tune in to nature together! The Junior Naturalist program series is presented as a partnership between Oconee Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, and Oconee 4-H. Youth 8-13 years old join Oconee County Park Rangers and your local 4H agent on TEN (yeah, we increased it) THURSDAYS (yeah, we changed it) from August 20 - October 29 (minus October 8 when Oconee schools are closed) for an hour-ish of nature exploration. We'll learn how to respectfully catch and handle wild creatures for educational/survey purposes, discuss human/plant relationships, learn how our observations can contribute to community science, and generally have a blast listening to the world around us! While this is a free event, REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED as space is limited. In addition to getting tickets for each day of attendance, please also fill out a participant form for each Junior Naturalist (fillable PDF or Google Form). This form only needs to be completed once for each participant. Planned topics and locations are as follows. All programs are 4:30-5:30 unless otherwise noted: • August 20 - Great Southeast Pollinator Count (entomology & plant interactions part 1) @ South Cove • August 27 - Dendrology (Trees) at Hayden Conference Center (SC Botanical Garden) with Carolyn Dawson • September 3 - Herpetology (reptiles & amphibians) with Dr. Patricia Whitener @ Chau Ram County Park • Sept 10 - Aquatic Macros & Stream Ecology @ Chau Ram County Park • September 17 - Botany @ South Carolina Botanical Garden (maybe) • Sept 24 Ornithology (Birds) with Youth Leader Aerin Skye Graham @ South Cove County Park • October 1 - Geology @ Oconee Quarry (Meet at the Oconee Rock Quarry, 686 Rock Crusher Rd. Walhalla, SC 29691) • Oct 8 - NO CLASS • Oct 15 - Mammals @ South Cove • Oct 22 - Monarchs & Milkweed Planting/ecology @ South Cove • Oct 29 - Spooky Friends (bats, spiders, centipedes, my hissing cockroaches if they're still alive) 6:30-8pm @ South Cove To earn the Junior Naturalist certification, youth must attend at least seven out of the ten events. To secure your spot, please get a ticket for each day you intend to participate. Please reach out to Oconee County 4H agent Lil Ledford [email protected] or Ranger Alec Merlo [email protected] to learn more. __________________________________ Membership requirement: Current 4-H membership in 4HOnline is requested for participation in this program. Members who join or renew in the month of September receive a free t-shirt. Contact Lil [email protected] with any questions. **NOTE THAT youth MUST be 4-H members for the WHEP competition in April, may as well join in September and get that t-shirt! Custodial Care: Please note that this event and its 4H coordinators do not assume custodial care of youth in attendance. Attendance protocol is maintained by Oconee County Parks, Tourism, and Recreation. Youth must have a signed program attendance form on file for this event, (fillable PDF or Google Form) and be signed in and signed out by a parent/guardian or designated representative. Civil Rights Statement