Page 87 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2016

PASCAGOULA RIVER AUDUBON CENTER
Call it eco tourism or nature tourism; either way the Pascagoula River Audubon Center is the Coast’s epicenter for this growing trend. Located in downtown Moss Point, the center is leading the effort to promote an increase in the number of these visitors.
“The new center highlights some key points and reflects the elements of the river environment,” said Director Mark LaSalle. “We have an interpretive center for all the things we have in the area and a nature-based fine art gallery that doubles as a meeting room. How cool is that to have meetings in the middle of art?”
There is a nature play area for pre-school children. All the grounds are part of nature and include a botanical garden illustrating how everyone can use native plants and birds in their yards, LaSalle points out.
History is a major part of the new center with two cultural elements that have been recognized by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. One is a remnant portion of the trolley line that connected Moss Point and Pascagoula from 1900 to 1925. The other is a 100-plus-year-old wood-frame building, locally known as the Scout Hut, originally constructed as a small cabin in or about 1905.
“Most importantly, the center continues boat tours on the Pascagoula and Escatawpa rivers and their activities with the birding trail and the Blue Way,” LaSalle said.
Pascagoula River Audubon Center
228.475.0825 www.pascagoulariver.audubon.org www.mscoastbirdingtrail.audubon.org
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
May 2016 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 87