The Decatur Minute

Posted in Events | 3 Comments

3 Responses

1. on April 18, 2014 at 5:46 pm | Reply Noemi N. Vega

   We are trying to enlist the help of several communities to try to get Fernbank Inc.(Fernbank Museum of Natural History) to compromise with all communities and make Fernbank Forest more accessible to all who wish to enter.

   On July 1, 2012, Fernbank Inc. locked the gates at Fernbank Science Center that lead to the Forest. The museum has a few guided tours scheduled, but to enter a person has to be a museum member or have paid the museum fee.

   Children especially should not have the Forest limited in access.
   “The expressed intention of this group of people [Fernbank, Inc.] was to provide for the children of the area a place where they could learn about the wonders of nature first-hand. Such an opportunity is rarely afforded the average urban child of this era”(1). This quote is from a book compiled by the Dekalb Historical Society in 1967.
   The Forest, up to almost two years ago, had its gates opened for many in our communities who were free to enter and explore.

   Two years is already too long of a span to have the Forest limited in access. Our children especially need to be able to stop in with their famiies amidst our hurried city lives for a moment of tranquility and connection with our natural surroundings. This used to be easily done since Forest access was granted for the usual times of Monday thru Saturday 10-5pm. This has not been the case since July 1, 2012.

   “…the presence of 60 acres of a virgin forest which has existed since 1820 in the very midst of an ever-growing and totally urban community is an exciting concept in itself. The opportunity it affords is even more exciting. The opportunity to learn, to change through awareness and through understanding of what is perceived, is here readily available to all who desire it, regardless of age”(1).

   Please help in our efforts to re-open Fernbank Forest by doing a web search on ” Open Fernbank Forest.”

   Thank you,

   Noemi N. Vega
   Open Fernbank Forest Group

   (1) History and Development of Fernbank Science Center. Dekalb Historical Society.1967.

   
   
2. on April 26, 2014 at 6:14 pm | Reply Noemi Vega

   I am sorry I listed the wrong times for when Fernbank Forest used to be open, but it was open Monday through Saturday for the public.
   There is a website now called “openfernbankforest.com.”
   Thank you.

   
   
3. on April 26, 2014 at 6:21 pm | Reply Noemi Vega

   I am sorry I listed the wrong times that Fernbank Forest used to be open to the general public. The Forest was open from Monday through Saturday for the communities.
   There is a new website called “openfernbankforest.”
   Thank you.