SPANISH FORT, Ala.—Spanish Fort’s inaugural Delta Woods and Waters Expo might be designed to teach area youth about the virtues of the surrounding Mobile-Tensaw Delta, but organizers have also created opportunities for students to become the teachers.

Almost 75 Boy and Girl Scouts from area troops will be given the chance to not only earn volunteer hours and badges toward rank advancements but also showcase their expertise in ecologically-friendly practices of benefit to the entire community.

The three-day festival, slated for May 7-9 at the Five Rivers Delta Resource Center, is part of the city’s long-range goal to foster community spirit while spawning a collective civic identity.

Inspired by the efforts of the Cheyenne, Wyo.-based Weatherby Foundation International’s “Outdoor Expo” campaign, the expo is designed to teach area youth about the beauty and utility of Spanish Fort’s unique environmental assets and how to use those for the benefit of the community and its residents.

The event also fulfills a tenet of the city’s comprehensive plan requiring the creation of an annual event to foster community spirit and identity.

In addition to volunteering in any capacity requested during the event, some 50 members of Boy Scout Troop 171 will be leading “Leave No Trace” workshops, promoting the principles of a national movement to respect and preserve the environment. According to the Boulder, Colo.-based movement’s mission statement, the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is an “educational, nonprofit organization dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors by all people, worldwide.”

Scout Master Jonathan Nobles said the program revolves around the simple concept of trying not to leave a footprint or damage the environment.

“You leave it like you found it, and do everything you can to preserve the habitat in its natural state rather than affect it,” Nobles said.

That means not wandering off established hiking trails; camping in areas that have already been camped in so as to minimize disruption; and even cooking without a fire whenever necessary, so as not to damage the ground in any way.

“The entire concept in Leave No Trace is about not affecting the environment, and that’s what our guys are going to help people at the expo learn a little more about,” Nobles said.

Meanwhile his wife, Vicki Nobles, leads Girl Scout Troop 8170, whose 13 members spent Tuesday afternoon at Spanish Fort Presbyterian Church stuffing 600 eco-friendly goody bags to be distributed during the event.

“I think (the expo) is going to be an excellent learning tool for the children and hopefully for some adults around here, too,” Vicki Nobles said.

At the same time, Kim Watson’s Girl Scout Troop 8171 has turned the expo into an opportunity to showcase a year-long educational project on the disintegration rates of plastic bags, while promoting the use of reusable bags.

Specifically, the 11 members of the troop are in the process of collecting 1,000 plastic grocery bags because their research determined that is the average number of the items a typical household receives in one year. Expo participants, Watson said, will be amazed to see exactly how many bags that really is, and the girls have also put together educational information to distribute.

“I’m really proud of them for doing this. They had no idea how many bags end up in a landfill and what the real impact of that is, so this just seemed like a natural way for them to educate the public and promote the use of reusable bags,” Watson said.

And because the scouts have been working with expo organizers since the event’s inception, Jonathan Nobles said he is confident the event will continue for years to come.

“I think Spanish Fort has been looking for an event that allows its residents to come together and support a common cause, and I think when they see what we’ve all been able to pull together, they’re going to be able to enjoy a very worthwhile event,” he said.