Make A Difference Day is Saturday, October 25, and at Laredo Community College, the Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center will recognize donors who have contributed to the advancement of its environmental education initiatives.
The
LBVESC staff will host an Open House on Oct. 25, beginning at 11 a.m. with a
ceremony to honor donors. Students and the public are invited be present for the
ceremony and
Among the honorees will be Dr. Sonya Rodriguez, a strong supporter of the LCC Science Center for years. She will be recognized for helping the Center establish the new Grazer exhibit, which features a live javelina. Last year, she provided assistance to create the Turtle Beach exhibit, featuring a variety of turtles native to the region.
The Science Center’s newest donor is the St. Augustine High School First Aid Club. The student organization will be recognized for donating funds to set up El Monte en la Noche, a diorama consisting of taxidermic animals native to the Rio Grande region in a brushland setting. The exhibit will feature blacklights and audio recordings of wildlife to give visitors the illusion of life in the brushlands during nighttime.
Also on Oct. 25, a local boy scout, Steve Barrera, will lead an effort to construct an 8’ x 8’ orchid house. As a designated U.S. Plant Rescue Center, the LCC Science Center has received various orchids confiscated at U.S. ports of entry by the U.S. Agricultural Department. Some of the orchids come from as far as way Japan, Mexico and Central and South America.
LBVE Science Center Director Tom Miller says that the orchid house will create valuable learning opportunities, including propagation projects for LCC science students participating in a federally funded internship program. It is also developing new partnerships with local organizations, including the Laredo Orchid Club.
Miller reported that the Science Center is constantly developing new learning initiatives and educational attractions thanks to the generosity of its donors. He indicated that the Science Center currently houses close to 300 animal and plant specimens native to the Rio Grande ecosystem. The LCC Science Center was established in 1999 with assistance from the Lamar Bruni Vergara Trust.
For more information about the Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center at LCC, call 764-5701. Office hours are Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.
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