Community Comes Together for a Walk on the Wild Side

Feb 9 2022 2:18 PM

More than 200 CCISD students, staff and community members came together on February 6, 2022, to support furry, four-legged and even the slithering critters who occupy the Seabrook Intermediate Living Materials Center (LMC). By the end of the perfect blue-sky morning, Walk on the Wild Side raised more than $6,000 to benefit the LMC.

Click here for photos from the Walk on the Wild Side benefit.

Year-round, the Living Materials Center houses more than 60 different species of exotic and sub-exotic animals. Animals can be checked out by teachers from all around the District to enhance curriculum and enrich the classroom. The LMC is reliant on the support of student, parent and community volunteers to care for and transport the animals, when requested by teachers from other campuses.

“Walk on the Wild Side is a celebration of the animals, the people and the programs of the Living Materials Center,” said Ande Smith, Living Materials Center and science manager at Seabrook Intermediate. “The incredible turn out of so many CCISD families and friends is a testament to the impact that Living Materials Center programs have on the students, the faculty and the staff of our district, and we are so grateful for their support.”

Set among the wooded and waterfront backdrop of Taylor Lake Village Community Park, the Walk on the Wild Side Walk/Run featured animals of the LMC in habitats along the course, activities for kids and family-friendly vendor booths.

Now in its 12^th year, Walk on the Wild Side was co-founded by 6^th grade students of Seabrook Intermediate at the time, Connor Turley and Mitch Gaines, along with Smith, MaryEllen Oliver, and the support of their parents.

Turley, who today is a successful accountant with PwC, came out to Sunday’s event and celebrated his living legacy.

“I am just so happy that it is continuing even after Mitch and I graduated high school and college and have started careers,” said Turley. “It has really become bigger than I think either of us could have imagined.”

Visit ccisd.net/LMC for more information on the Living Materials Center or to explore volunteering.