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IN THIS ISSUE

·        4-H Holds Open House

·        Fall Family Festival at Mounts Botanical Garden

·        Palm Tran Celebrates 10 Million Rides

·        Green Cay Nature Center Hosts First Annual Migration Celebration

·        Upcoming Events and Volunteer Opportunities

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4-H Holds Open House

The Cooperative Extension Service’s 4-H program annual open house will be held on Saturday, Oct. 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Exhibit Halls, 559 N Military Trail.  Visitors can learn about 4-H programs and activities, and 4-H participants can get credit in their project areas for their displays.
 The day includes demonstrations, illustrated talks, leadership training, exhibit tables and refreshments.  Poster contest winners will be announced in each age division.
 The 4-H program also offers adults the opportunity to share their knowledge and skills.  Carol Johnson is a sewing artist who teaches 4-H participants.  Her students begin with creating simple items such as napkins and placemats and then move on to more complex projects such as sewing garments, decorated T-shirts and quilts or working with cross-stitch. 
 Johnson joined the 4-H when she was seven years old and has a wealth of experience.  She has tackled many ambitious sewing projects including making her own wedding dress with the help of her mother-in-law.  When Johnson and her husband John, County Graphics manager, moved to Lake Worth from California, she started making large cross-stitch banners for churches.  Since then, she has completed more than 100 quilts for Lutheran World Relief. 

Fall Family Festival at Mounts Botanical Garden

Mounts Botanical Garden and the Junior League of the Palm Beaches present the 11^th Annual Fall Family Festival on Sunday, October 14th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The festival offers a day of family fun that includes a pumpkin painting booth, bounce house, rock climbing wall, petting zoo, pony rides, kiddie train rides, face painting, haystack hunts, lady bug education and release, arts and crafts, prizes, musical entertainment, refreshments and much more.  The activities will take place in the midst of the beautiful public garden in West Palm Beach.

The Fall Family Festival is a safe community event featuring the Junior League of the Palm Beaches ever-popular pumpkin painting booth.  As Halloween is just around the corner, children are invited to attend in costume.  Master Gardeners and the Sunrise/Conrad Chapter of the American Hibiscus Society, the Rose Society and the Herb Society will offer various activities and crafts featuring planting skills.  The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Management will give away native plant seedlings. Fun and interesting animal exhibits will include Greyhound Pets of America, the Palm Beach County Rabbiteers and a petting zoo.  Most of the activities are free, although some require a nominal fee.

Make your plans to bring the whole family out to Mounts Botanical Garden for the Fall Family Festival.

There is a $3 entrance donation, but Mounts Botanical Garden members and children under age 10 enter free. For more information, call (561) 233-1757 or visit www.Mounts.org

WHAT:    11^th Annual Fall Family Festival

WHERE:   Mounts Botanical Garden

              559 North Military Trail, West Palm Beach, FL 33415

              (Located between Southern Boulevard and Belvedere Road)

WHEN:    Sunday, October 14, 2007; 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

COST:    $3 entrance donation, Garden Members and children under age 10 free. Some activities require a nominal fee

Palm Tran Celebrates 10 Million Rides

Palm Tran announced that it has achieved a record one-year ridership total of more than 10 million for fiscal year 2007. Annual ridership has increased by more than 30 percent from just three years ago. Palm Tran has achieved this with the support of the Board of County Commissioners, the efforts of its employees, County staff and the work of the Palm Tran Service Board. The PTSB is a volunteer board responsible for overseeing Palm Tran’s services. The 10-millionth ride was provided on Tuesday, September 25, 2007. This milestone was celebrated with riders on the Route 3 northbound bus leaving the VA Medical Center. All passengers aboard the chosen bus were given several promotional items from Palm Tran.

Green Cay Nature Center Hosts First Annual Migration Celebration

Green Cay Nature Center will host their first annual Migration Celebration at Green Cay Nature Center on Saturday, October 20, 2007, from 9:00 am
to 3:00 pm. Bring the whole family to this FREE event and help us celebrate the return of migratory birds with special activities and presentations throughout the day.

Presentations will start at 9:00 am with Birdscaping your Landscape by Keith Patton of the University of Florida Extension Office, followed by Raptor Chapter by Clive Pinnock of Okeeheelee Nature Center at 10:00 am. Presenter Ben Kolstad from the Audubon Society of the Everglades will discuss Migratory Birds and Climate Change at 11:00 am, and David Hitzig of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary will host a Live Bird Presentation at 12:00 pm. Bird Banding by Rick Newman of Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is scheduled for 1:00 pm, and Issues Facing Birds and Wildlife Release presentation by Dr. Dacia Oprisanu of the Folke Peterson Wildlife Center will begin at 2:00 pm.

Many other family-oriented activities are planned to complement the presentations. Grab a bird passport, get it stamped at the three boardwalk stations, complete the final activity, and redeem it for a special prize. Exhibitors will be on hand to showcase their work. Guests can also enjoy Children’s Bird Crafts Story Time at the Chickee Hut (every half hour) and Boardwalk Birding Tours at 9:00 am, 11:00, 1:00 pm and 3:00.

Green Cay Nature Cente r is operated by the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department and is located at 12800 Hagen Ranch Road in Boynton Beach. Log on to for more!

More Upcoming Events and Volunteer Opportunities

• Okeeheelee Nature Center is having a Halloween event including costume prizes, apple bobbing, night animals, story telling, face painting, crafts and guided tours. The event will be held on October 26^th from 6 to 9 p.m. Okeeheelee Nature Center, 7715 Forest Hill Boulevard in West Palm Beach. For more information call, 233-1400
• Ferns, lichens, bromeliads, are just some of the plant life that lives up in a tree at Riverbend Park. Naturalist will lead a guided tour with plant identification of the many epiphytic plants found in the park. The event will be held on Saturday, October 20 from  9 to 10 a.m.