Our Story
The Housing Ooltewah Owls Club (H.O.O.) was started in 2016 by Maddie Raughton, an International Baccalaureate Senior at Ooltewah High School, and her IB Biology teacher, Mr. Fischer. Maddie asked Mr. Fischer to sponsor an environmental club as part of her C.A.S. project, an idea she thought of following a seminar in his class concerning environmental issues. Coincidentally, Mr. Fischer had also been asked by the administration to offer his aid in a school beautification project in conjunction with local business partners wishing to somehow incorporate owls into the project. As a result, a plan to bring back the owls to Ooltewah was launched.
The club was founded with the goal of creating an owl sanctuary, which could eventually be expanded into an outdoor classroom. By the end of the club's first year, the foundations for several projects had been laid, and the projects were executed in the following year. By December of 2017, HOO Club had developed a fully functioning outdoor classroom, a thriving OHS Paper Recycling program, and began work on the school’s outdoor gardens. Furthermore, the initial goal was met, and the owl sanctuary welcomed home two Eastern Screech Owls, Nissan and Mandy. They were released into the sanctuary during Spring of 2018 with the help of Happinest Wildlife Rehabilitation & Rescue. (video and pictures can be viewed on this website).
We are now a Leadership Course, and the club's mission remains as environmental stewardship, awareness, and education, with an emphasis on student-led initiatives and student-run service projects.
The club was founded with the goal of creating an owl sanctuary, which could eventually be expanded into an outdoor classroom. By the end of the club's first year, the foundations for several projects had been laid, and the projects were executed in the following year. By December of 2017, HOO Club had developed a fully functioning outdoor classroom, a thriving OHS Paper Recycling program, and began work on the school’s outdoor gardens. Furthermore, the initial goal was met, and the owl sanctuary welcomed home two Eastern Screech Owls, Nissan and Mandy. They were released into the sanctuary during Spring of 2018 with the help of Happinest Wildlife Rehabilitation & Rescue. (video and pictures can be viewed on this website).
We are now a Leadership Course, and the club's mission remains as environmental stewardship, awareness, and education, with an emphasis on student-led initiatives and student-run service projects.