Richard Shields Elementary School first-grade students in Lewes were treated to a winter animals program thanks to the St. Jones Reserve.

The St. Jones Center for Estuarine Studies at St. Jones Reserve is open to the public and provides hiking trails, hands-on interactive activities and exhibits, a recycling center, restoration demonstration areas as well as a variety of programs and volunteer opportunities for the community, teachers, students, and families. The center also supports ongoing research and monitoring, field studies, citizen monitoring programs, and training opportunities for coastal decision makers. The reserve is located on the north shore of the St. Jones River, off Kitts Hummock Road, south of Dover. The center is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

It's a skunk but it doesn't stink even though Shields first-grader Patrick Donahue thinks it does. (Photo by: Ron MacArthur)

Shelby Manlove gets close to a stuffed fox during a winter animals program for Shields Elementary School first-graders. (Photo by: Ron MacArthur)