2008 South Central Teacher Forestry Tour: Starkville, MS

2009 South Central Teacher Forestry Tour Schedule To Be Announced: June 2 - 5 Starkville, Mississippi

Welcome to the 2008 South Central Teacher Forestry Tours Homepage

June 3 - 6, 2008 based in Starkville, Mississippi

	Tuesday June 3	Wednesday June 4	Thursday June 5	Friday June 6
Breakfast		Hotel Breakfast begins at 6:00am 7:00 am Bus Departs	Hotel Breakfast begins at 6:00am 7:00 am Bus Departs	Hotel Breakfast begins at 6:30am
AM	Georgia Pacific Softwood Plywood Mill Noxubee Wildlife Refuge	Active Logging (TBA) McShan Lumber Mill & Woodlot	7:30am - 10:30am Wrap Up Evaluation Adjourn
Lunch	Environmental Education Center Noxubee	McShan Lumber McShan Community Center
PM	Registration Comfort Suites Lobby (3pm - 5pm) Orientation @ 5:00pm	Mississippi State University Forestry Pine Thinning Workshop Tim Tek Tour	Domtar Paper Mill WeyerhaeuserSilviculture Activities
Dinner	The Veranda Keynote Speaker: Charlie Morgan, State Forester, MS Forestry Commission	BBQ Dorman Lake Cabin	Plymouth Bluff Center Wood Magic

Lodging and Transportation

Tour participants will be lodged at the Comfort Suites in Starkville, Mississippi:

Hotel: Comfort Suites
801 Russell St.
Starkville, Mississippi 39759
Phone (662) 324-9595
Hotel Website

Designated Airport: (shuttle service provided)

Teachers can arrive at the Golden Triangle Airport (GTR) in Columbus, Mississippi where transportation from and then back to the airport is provided; teachers are asked to submit a transportation information sheet and then we make the shuttle arrangements.

For those flying into the Golden Triangle Airport (GTR) Columbus, MS:

Arrival flights need to be at the GTR by 3:00pm on Tuesday, June 3rd
Return flights need to depart no earlier than 1:00pm on Friday, June 6th
Transportation will be provided to our hotel from the Golden Triangle Airport and then back to the Golden Triangle Airport on Friday; teachers are asked to submit a transportation information sheet and then we make the shuttle arrangements.

For those driving to Starkville, or coming from another airport:
Please proceed directly to the Comfort Suites in Starkville, arriving no later than 4:30pm on Tuesday June, 3rd.

All Tour participants need to arrive at the hotel no later than 4:30pm on Tuesday to check in, register with us, and be ready for orientation in the hotel’s meeting room at 5:00pm. We will board our bus immediately after orientation to The Veranda for dinner.

Throughout the Tour, bus transportation is provided by Hannah Tours.

Please remember that any hotel or transportation expenses incurred prior to Tuesday or after Friday afternoon are the responsibility of you and your sponsor. If you choose to fly to an airport other than the Golden Triangle Airport, airport you will need to make your own transportation arrangements to arrive at the Comfort Suites in Starkville, Mississippi by 4:30pm Tuesday.

Registration and Orientation

Upon arriving to the Comfort Suites on Tuesday, participants can first check in to their hotel rooms, and then stop by the registration table in the lobby to receive tour registration packets and to meet the Foundation's staff.

The Tour officially begins with an orientation and introductions in the Comfort Suites meeting room starting at 5:00pm for all participants. You will receive an overview of the tour from the Foundation's President/CEO and get an opportunity to meet facilitators and fellow participants.

Following orientation, Tour participants will board a bus and head to dinner at The Veranda restaurant in Starkville. We will begin the dinner event with a keynote speaker, beverages and appetizers. Following dinner, participants return to the Comfort Suites to rest up for the big days ahead!

Friday Morning Wrap-Up and Evaluations

The Tour concludes on Friday, usually around 10:30 am, following a wrap-up presentation and written and oral evaluations. Within a few weeks, all Teacher Forestry Tour graduates receive a Certificate of Participation and an interactive CD scrapbook containing images from their trip, as well as contact information for everyone they met on Tour, and much, much more. In addition, Teacher Forestry Tour graduates are eligible to receive continuing education credits from their school and may apply for one undergraduate or graduate level credit from the University of Idaho.

Some Resources for Tour Participants

Here is an electronic copy (MS Word file) of the Teacher information sheets you received in your packet. If you have not sent this in yet, or cannot locate the pages in your packet, please download, print, complete and return these two forms to Temperate Forest Foundation.

Questions?

Call our office at (503) 579-6762 or send an e-mail to office@forestinfo.org.

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