FAIRHOPE, Ala. — While meetings of the Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board might excite conservation activists, they rarely make the summer calendar of parents looking for a fun place to bring children.

But today’s visit from the Weeks Bay Reserve’s Watershed Wagon offers a new opportunity for some hands-on education that isn’t dry as chalkdust.

“The Watershed Wagon is an interactive environmental classroom that takes the message of watershed protection to the audience,” said Michael Shelton, watershed coordinator of Weeks Bay Reserve. “The things that people do on the ground around homes and businesses can result in water pollution particularly when combined with stormwater runoff.”

The Watershed Wagon will arrive at the Fairhope Civic Center today at 8 a.m. and be there until 11.

The environmental advisory group’s meeting is from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and will include a demonstration by Shelton. The rest of the meeting involves several other stormwater management issues.

But you don’t have to attend the FEAB meeting, or be a part of that group, to visit this rolling classroom.

“The Watershed Wagon will be open to anyone that walks up,” Shelton said.

Stormwater management problems are one of the major environmental concerns along the Gulf Coast and in Fairhope, said Jim Horner, FEAB’s chairman. The advisory group has undertaken a number of initiatives to address stormwater runoff problems.

One of the tasks of the group is to provide advice to the mayor and City Council.

Today’s meeting will include a proposed recommendation regarding training for city utility crews regarding “best management practices” for erosion and sediment runoff control. The meeting will also include a report on stormwater and environmental education training offered to the public by the Eastern Shore Institute of Lifelong Learning.

The group’s agenda also states that Shelton “will explain and demonstrate its use as a tool for environmental education.”

Weeks Bay Reserve launched its new rolling education classroom on Earth Day this year.

“Conducting outreach which includes ways to improve the health of the Gulf of Mexico is the primary objective for the program,” according to a program brochure. “Also, building lasting partnerships with audiences who may not regularly receive this type of environmental outreach is our goal.”

Watershed Wagon events are tailored to the audience and offer activities for youth and adults, indoors or outdoors, with community groups, civic clubs, churches, schools and festivals within rolling distance of this mobile environmental education experience.

“By having a visit from the Watershed Wagon, people can learn about the challenges facing coastal watersheds and some things each person can do to reduce stormwater runoff-related pollution,” Shelton said.

To learn more about the Watershed Wagon, or to schedule an interactive learning experience, call Michael Shelton at 928-9792.