EE Update March 2025
Festival of Books: Malana (left) with David & Deborah
March Environmental Ed activities::
Earlier in March I did a follow-up program on wildlife cameras at Mountain Vista K-8! We had planned to put a wildlife camera up at the school and have students go through the footage on the camera to learn about wildlife, but unfortunately we were unable to find a location that recorded anything other than grass blowing. So, we shifted the approach and instead had students go through wildlife camera footage from the park and had them collect data. Students seemed to really enjoy it, though there were some not-so-thrilled comments on there being soooo many videos of deer (which the rangers here also say when we go through our wildlife cam footage).
We had some field trips this month! So far we have brought out over 160 students to the park for a field trip this year!
We had an Odyssey program for 6th graders. It went well and the class had a great time. The teacher has done programs with the park before and was happy to be out, and sounds like they will want to return.
We just wrapped up two days of Adventure programs for 1st graders. One school brought out over 80 students across two days, and explored the park using their senses along a hike. The students had a blast.
Leading up to the trips I hosted a refresher training for volunteers helping lead trips, to make sure we were prepped and ready for the programs. Thank you to all of the volunteers who have helped facilitate these programs!
We tabled as Arizona State Parks and Trails at the Tucson Festival of Books March 15th&16th. It was a great time and we had activities focused on highlighting our state parks and recreational activities that can be done in them, highlighting the physical, mental, and community health benefits. A big thank you to Friends of Oracle State Park for your help staffing our table and other volunteers who came out to support!
Looking forward:
With the Festival of Books and field trips wrapped up, I am excited to continue working towards my Environmental Education Certification. I had taken a pause on the course but now have more time and mental space to continue with the course content. I am also hoping that as I work through the course I will find ways to implement what I am learning into our current programs, so now is a good time to start that!
I am looking to continue working with Mountain Vista, possibly doing another classroom visit around May. I am hoping to continue to work with the same teacher next year, but might shift ideas and develop a formal curriculum to present as part of my certification.
Towards the end of April I (and others at the park) will be attending a virtual summit focused on welcoming, inclusive, and accessible outdoor programs. I am really looking forward to these webinars to see how they can be implemented into our field trips and other park programming.