Education
School Education Programs
Friends of the Dunes offers fall and spring field trip programs designed for 3rd-6th grades. Our classic Bay to Dunes program includes a pre-field trip classroom presentation with a colorful PowerPoint presentation followed by hands-on activities to prepare students for their visit. On field trip day, classes are broken up into smaller groups of 8-12 and led by a trained guide through a variety of fun and educational activities and games focusing on bay and dunes habitats. At the bay, we dip net for invertebrates, frogs and salamanders in the freshwater marsh, explore the salt marsh with "bug boxes" and binoculars, dig in the bay mud for worms and clams, play predator-prey and create a web of life. In the dunes, we pull invasive European Beachgrass, identify animal tracks, learn how the sand moves to form the dunes, use field guides to identify plants and have some free time at the beach.
Field Trip options:
Bay to Dunes On our classic 4-5 hour field trip, students spend half the day exploring the dunes and half of the day at the bay and freshwater marshes, with a lunch break in between. These field trips can take place at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center/Manila Park, or the Ma-lel Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. We can accommodate 2 classes (about 50 students), per field trip.
Bay OR Dunes A shorter, 2-3 hour field trip option (half of a Bay to Dunes field trip) exploring either the bay OR the dunes. These field trips can take place at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center/Manila Park or the Ma-lel Dunes unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. We can accommodate 2 classes (about 50 students) per field trip with one class at the bay and one class at the dunes.
Adopt-a-Dune As a follow up to Bay to Dunes, classes can return to the dunes 2 or more times for short trips (1.5-2 hours) to participate in dune restoration by removing invasive European beachgrass.
Bay to Dunes/Adopt-a-Dune South In collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management, starting in spring of 2011, we will be piloting Bay to Dunes and Adopt-a-Dune field trips at the South Spit of the Humboldt Bay, in order to better serve Southern Humboldt schools. Our plans are to expand school trip offerings in fall of 2011.
Cow and Cattails In collaboration with the Northcoast Regional Land Trust, we offer field trips at the Freshwater Farms Reserve. During these trips students will learn about the wetland restoration project occurring on the reserve which balances human land uses with wildlife management. We explore manmade ponds and slough channels, while learning about wetlands, restoration, watersheds, and sensitive species such as salmon.
To schedule a field trip, contact suzie@friendsofthedunes.org or call: 444-1397