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By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS
Tucked away on a quiet parcel of 40 acres off New Cut Road in northern Spartanburg County is one of the area’s oft-overlooked treasures, Wildlife Action’s outdoor education and activity center known as Lost Acres.
According to WLA Upstate Chapter volunteer Dan McCall, Lost Acres is one of several facilities the group maintains dedicated to education and conservation efforts. WLA was founded in Mullins, South Carolina, more than 30 years ago to help raise public awareness about the nation’s imperiled natural resources in order to secure them for future generations.
McCall said that as part of this effort, Lost Acres played host to more than 700 elementary-aged children last year who took part in the center’s outdoor recreational and educational activities.
A recent Saturday was typical of a weekend day in warm weather at Lost Acres as roughly 70 children from Cub Scouts, area organizations and families spent the day learning things like archery and gun safety, identifying local flora and fauna through a guided nature walk, and an informative talk about local animals through a discussion using donated skeletons and bones, skins and shells of numerous indigenous creatures.
“We are very conscientious about conservation and safety,” McCall said. “Last year we had about 700 kids pass through here. Needless to say, this is the best-kept secret in Spartanburg County.”
Stephanie Johnson, a den leader with Landrum’s Cub Scout Pack 155, said that the Lost Acres facility offered a great deal to local groups like the Scouts. She said that through the activities offered there her Scouts were able to learn a number of things and accomplish a number of tasks that would help them advance in rank.
Johnson also said her pack would be looking into scheduling further events and activities at Lost Acres because it offered so much and was located so close.
WLA began more than 30 years ago when two South Carolina hunters saw the need to improve the public’s understanding about how vital conservation and education about the state’s natural resources was, especially for future generations.
McCall said that the Lost Acres facility continues to fulfill that role and is run strictly with volunteers. In addition to giving of their time to instruct young people about woodcraft and outdoor safety, volunteers also teach kids skills like outdoor cooking or even how to build a bluebird house. Inherent in everything WLA does is the concept that conservation of natural resources is crucial to maintaining the balance between the needs of people and the needs of the natural world and the plants and creatures in it.
McCall said that upcoming projects at Lost Acres include the construction of an outdoor chapel and an enclosed shelter so more programs can be offered in colder months.
Anyone interested in learning more about Wildlife Action Inc. can visit the group’s website at www.wildlifeaction.com or call the organization’s national headquarters in Mullins at 800-753-2264.
Anyone interested in volunteering, contributing financially or scheduling an event at the Lost Acres facility can call Upstate Chapter President Dick Cassell at (864)809-0619 or Dan McCall at (864)541-8831. Wildlife Action Inc. is a registered 501c(3) charity, and all contributions are tax deductible.
jking@hometown-news.com
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