(Ford City, PA) Registration ends at 3 p.m. Friday for the first of two noncredit community enrichment classes to debut at the new $6.5 million 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong facility in Ford City and as part of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Lifelong Learning program.
Community members can register to attend Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a two-hour class that begins at 6 p.m. Monday, at bc3.edu/lifelong-learning or by calling 724-284-8504.
Karlee Holmes, who served as a park ranger at Crooked Creek Lake, will instruct , and on Nov. 13 at 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong, 1100 Fourth Ave.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Birding Basics: Winter Visitors cost $25 each.
The 15,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong facility .
Paul Lucas, director of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Lifelong Learning program, said the introduction of classes at 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong represents 鈥渁nother way to engage with the community, and another opportunity to bring the community into the facility.鈥�
"The students were excited about the new building and the community members were excited in a different way. Now they can come in and take classes themselves. They can say, 'I don't want to stop. I want to learn more.' "
- Karlee Holmes, 杏吧原创 instructor
Karlee Holmes, who was raised in South Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, is shown in October 2022, in Ellicottville, N.Y., holding a barn owl. Holmes will instruct two noncredit community enrichment classes that will debut at the new $6.5 million 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong facility in Ford City as part of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Lifelong Learning program.
Karen Zapp is director of 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong.
鈥淭hese one-evening nature classes are a perfect way to offer the community a chance to learn and to visit this beautiful new facility,鈥� Zapp said.
Holmes teaches credit courses in biology and environmental biology at 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong.
鈥淭he students were excited about the new building,鈥� Holmes said, 鈥渁nd the community members were excited in a different way. Now they can come in and take classes themselves. They can say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to stop. I want to learn more.鈥欌��
Holmes was raised in South Buffalo Township and has been an outdoors enthusiast since age 5, when she first hand-fed deer near Cooks Forest State Park, which spans Clarion, Forest and Jefferson counties, and first saw elk in Elk County.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park borders North Carolina and Tennessee and is the most visited national park in the United States, according to the National Park Foundation. Holmes has visited the park five times since 2019.
鈥淚 love the bears,鈥� Holmes said. 鈥淭here are a ton of bears down there.鈥�
Community members will also learn about attractions, where to take photographs, find streams and waterfalls, and discover why the park is called the salamander capital of the world, Holmes said.
Holmes鈥� interest in birds was piqued while observing eagles and their nest during her work as a park ranger with the Army Corps of Engineers, she said.
Birding Basics: Winter Visitors 鈥渋s geared toward beginning birders, and how to get visiting winter birds to your backyard,鈥� Holmes said.
Community members will learn about different types of birds, feeders and how to use software that tracks nearby populations, Holmes said.
鈥淭hey will get the tools,鈥� Holmes said, 鈥渢o start birding on their own.鈥�