Shangri La Spotlights Texas Black Bears in Beat the Heat Presentation,

August 26, 2008

ORANGE, Texas, August 26, 2008 - Black bears will be the focus of the final installment of Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center's 2008 Beat the Heat presentation series. Rickey Maxey of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will lead the discussion, titled Black Bears in Texas, on Tuesday, September 16 at 7:00 p.m. The event is free of charge and will be held at the Stark Museum Education Center, which is located at 812 Green Avenue, Orange, Texas, across 7th Street from the Stark Museum of Art in downtown Orange.

In the 1890s, black bears were found throughout east Texas; however, they became nearly extinct due to habitat destruction and hunting pressure. Conservation efforts have helped save the species, and bears are once again being spotted in east Texas and western Louisiana. In his presentation, Maxey will discuss the species and their condition in the area today.

For more information, please visit www.shangrilagardens.org or call 409.670.9113.

About Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center

Nestled within 252 acres in the heart of Orange, Texas, Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center is a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, a private foundation whose mission is to improve and enrich the quality of life in Southeast Texas and encourage and assist education. The unique ecosystem of Shangri La presents an ideal opportunity to further that mission as well as carry on the vision of H.J Lutcher Stark, the man who originally developed the gardens more than 60 years ago.

The formal Botanical Gardens contain more than 300 plant species in five formal "rooms" as well as four sculpture "rooms" plus thousands of nesting birds in Ruby Lake. The Nature Center includes Adams Bayou boat excursions to educational outposts, a 15-acre Beaver Pond, a state-of-the-art bird blind, a bat house, and more up-close encounters with nature.

Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center is the first project in Texas and the 50th project in the world to earn the U.S. Green Building Council's Platinum Certification for LEED®-NC, which verifies that the design and construction of Shangri La reached the highest green building and performance measures. Shangri La offers a glimpse of how people can live in harmony with nature, as it strives in its mission to Mentor Children of All Ages to Be Kind to Their World.

Shangri La is located at 2111 West Park Avenue, Orange, Texas.