Hands-on experience
More than 30,000 migrating birds stop at the Upper Newport Bay Ecological
reserve to rest and regroup as they travel through the Pacific Flyway,
extending from Alaska to Mexico.
But a flock of a different sort descended on the Newport Beach reserve
last week: more than 150 Fountain Valley third-graders.
The students from Courreges Elementary School -- along with a small army
of parents, teachers and naturalists -- spent six hours traversing the
reserve as part of Orange County’s Inside the Outdoors science study
programs.
The comprehensive day includes bird-watching, archeology and botany
lessons, Courreges schoolteacher Linda Shea said.
“The kids become very knowledgeable about the area’s ecosystem,” Shea
said. “Often they come back with their parents and teach them about the
reserve.”
At one of the four learning stations during the lesson, students sift
through mock archeological sites for American Indian artifacts.
Along the way, they are taught by one of the program’s naturalists about
the Tongva tribe that lived along the banks of the estuary hundreds of
years ago.
Students are also offered binoculars and a bird-watching lesson.
The 752-acre reserve is home to endangered birds such as the brown
pelican and the peregrine falcon.
Shea said the interactive focus of the program and preparatory lessons
given by teachers keeps the students captivated by the field trip.
“We prepare months ahead of time,” Shea said. “By the time the kids
actually arrive at the reserve, they are already knowledgeable about the
ecosystem.”
Shea also credits the program’s naturalists for stoking the students’
enthusiasm.
She said they are both extremely knowledgeable and good teachers.
“I love my job. It is great when you see you are getting through to the
kids,” lead naturalist Terry Kiesewetter said.
Each naturalist leads a group of 12 to 17 students along the learning
tour.
One of the main aims of the program is to make the students
environmentally conscious.
“Students are taught how the food chain works and the interdependence of
the various species,” Shea said.
Students’ interest shined as their arms shot up to answer the
naturalist’s questions.
The naturalists use scavenger hunts for different plant species and
digging through mud at the ecology station to make learning enjoyable.
The Inside the Outdoors initiative started in 1973 with the outdoor
science school.
Today it has grown to include 13 programs and 10 field sites throughout
Orange County.
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