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LBL & Lake Barkley State Resort Park to Host Regional Interpreter's Workshop
GOLDEN POND, KY - Land Between The Lakes (LBL) National Recreation Area, in partnership with "Friends of LBL" and Lake Barkley State Resort Park, is preparing to host the 2009 Southeast Regional Interpreter's Workshop during the week of February 17-20 for the National Association for Interpretation (NAI). NAI is an association for professionals involved in the interpretation of natural and cultural heritage resources in settings such as parks, zoos, museums, nature centers, aquaria, botanical gardens, and historical sites.
This year's workshop theme, Building Bridges, Bridging Ideas will look to offer concurrent sessions and speakers that will help those in attendance bridge concepts between natural history, cultural history, and environmental education. This workshop will feature speakers with ties to river use, conservation, and education including Kim Trevathan who has paddled the entire lengths of the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers; Brian "Fox" Ellis who will present a portrayal of John James Audubon and the importance of the rivers to his work; George Bartnik of the Tennessee Aquarium who will be part of a panel discussion titled "Last Kid on the River" encouraging discussion of methods for getting children out onto and into the rivers around them; and Chad Pregracke of Living Lands & Waters who is known nationally for his work to create a desire and opportunity for stewardship and responsibility for a cleaner river environment.
The workshop hosted will provide an opportunity for an anticipated 140 attendees from all over the southeast to experience a unique landscape where four rivers converge, where tall grass prairies meet eastern forests, and where differing beliefs led to a civil war creating a border between the North and the South. "We are very excited to be hosting this year's workshop," stated John Pollpeter of the Workshop Planning Committee. "It has been some time since LBL has hosted anything like this, and we feel we have a theme and program that will really have people talking about what was offered at this workshop for years to come."
"We could not have possibly put together this kind of workshop without our sponsors," added Robert Holliday also of the Workshop Planning Committee. "By helping to offset the expenses of this kind of event, the sponsors really show that having well trained interpreters at natural and cultural sites to share information with school children, adults, and families on vacation is something that is important to them." Sponsors for the event include: Tennessee Valley Authority; Beachaven Winery; The Big Apple Cafe; Coca-Cola; Murray Kroger; Ecotone Services; EPIK Kayaking; Michael Earls Design; Lighthouse Landing; Patti's 1880's Settlement; Kentucky Association for Environmental Education; Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Marshall County Lodge 2707; Beach Oil Company BP Shop #19; Brigham Hardware; Spotlight Properties; North Stewart Veterinary Clinic; Piggly Wiggly; Sills Insurance Agency; F&M Bank; Artie Peacher D.D.S.; Cheatham's TV, Furniture, & Radio Shack; Farm Bureau Insurance; Fort Donelson Relics; BenWoods Inc.; Sportswear Promotions Inc.; and Palustris Natural Resource Consulting Inc.
Additional LBL information is available on the LBL website, www.lbl.org, or by calling 1-800-LBL-7077 or 270-924-2000. You can find out more about "Friends of LBL" at www.friendsoflbl.org.
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Media Contact: 270-924-2000
(February 12, 2009)