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K-12 Educator Partnerships

students pointing from south pond dock

We’re eager to work with you! As you nurture futur environmentally conscious leaders in your classroom and foster their sense of place in the community, we can help provide meaningful place-based experiences. 

The Ecosystem Preserve offers a variety of learning opportunities for PreK-12 students throughout the school year. Plan a visit to the Preserve, have us visit your campus, choose from our program menu options, or arrange a more curated experience to meet your needs! To see these options in a brochure format, click here [link to program menu PDF]. You can sign up for one, several, or all five in the series.

Topics

The local ecosystem has so much to teach. Our educational programming is centered around these main themes:

  • Landscape History
  • Biodiversity
  • Natives & Invasives
  • Watersheds
  • Sustainability

Programs for PreK-8

  • Preserve Time Travel | Can we see into the past? Into the future? At the Preserve we can! We’ll explore important periods of history, their impact today, and apply our learning to the future. Students will get to investigate real mastodon bones and Indigenous crops.
  • Naturally Stronger Together | Explore the diversity of ecosystems at the Preserve and the diversity of plants and animals who live there! Students will discover how they all work together through interactive games.
  • Plants and Places | Right plant, wrong place? Wrong plant, right place? It’s important to pay attention to the plants we have, the places they grow, and their impact on the environment. Students will create artwork using invasive species!
  • Water Wonder | Maybe you’ve heard, “We all live downstream”… but what does that really mean? Students will get to explore and map a watershed, and perform real scientific tests to measure water quality.
  • Earth Heroes | If we take care of the earth, the earth will take care of us. There are many things we can do to help make this happen, and much we can learn from the earth itself. Students will get “earthy” learning about compost and taking on an engineering challenge!

Programs for 7-12th

  • Ecosystem Dynamics Game | Experience a reverse field trip as Preserve Staff bring the interactive Ecosystem Dynamics Game to your classroom! Students use native species cards to build food webs, modeling historical events and land use impacts on the local ecosystem over time.
  • Biodiversity Field Lab | Encounter the various species and natural communities within this unique biodiversity hot spot. Engage in real scientific sampling methods that can replicated on your own school campus.
  • Native Roots & Restoration (High School Only) | Learn about habitat restoration and make a lasting impact! Plant natives, remove invasives, tend gardens, or maintain trails depending on the season. This program also includes the “Invasives” round of the Ecosystem Dynamics Game (see above) as a Reverse Field Trip.
  • Measuring the Ripple Effect | What is a watershed, and why does it matter? Students model our own watershed, participate in water quality testing and learn about what factors affect our swamps, streams, vernal pools, and the creatures who live there.
  • Biomimicry Engineering Lab | Students will experience project-based learning in this hands on STEM challenge. Tour our LEED-certified Bunker Interpretive Center, explore the clever adaptations of local species, and use biomimicry to create nature-inspired solutions to real-world problems.
  • Future Focus Seminar | What could life beyond school hold for your emerging adults? One of our experienced Preserve staff or alumni come to your school or space to educate students about future environmental career and research opportunities. We’ll share about our own staff and faculty roles, student research and stewardship done on the Preserve grounds, and career pathways of our own alumni. Timing is adjustable to suit your schedule.

Logistics

Scheduling: Preserve Field Trips are generally 90 minutes each, scheduled on Wednesdays and Fridays. “Reverse Field Trips” are more flexible to suit your class schedule.

Pricing: While these educational experiences require planning time, materials, and experienced staff, we want to make sure that our programs are accessible for all. See our program menu [link to program menu PDF] for low cost pricing details.

Bundle Discount: Participate in 4 programs within a single school year, and get the 5th program FREE!

Fee Waivers: Please let us know if cost is prohibitive to your participation. Fee assistance is available!

Interested? Connect with Us!

If you're looking for opportunities for other age groups, see more options on our Programs webpage

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