Field Trips and School Programs

Field trip offerings for the spring of 2021 are limited to watershed hikes and subject to change due to COVID-19 and associated risks. Please contact Eric Dean, below, to learn more. Scroll down to read about other opportunities we can offer virtually or at your school in the schoolyard and nearby habitats.

Field Trips

Plan a field trip and visit the first National Estuarine Research Reserve with your students. Discover an estuary, where the river meets the sea. Engage your students with the natural world while exploring a watershed, salt marsh, tideflat and water channel. Allow your students to hike, dig, collect, observe and inquire. Involve students in science, and build scientific literacy.

Dock Study - cancelled

Description: Discover what lies below the surface of the estuary from the platform of the docks. Water quality sampling, plankton tow, organism sampling. This program is temporarily cancelled due to COVID concerns.
Grades: 4-12
Length: 1 hour
Offered: Wednesdays through Fridays, March-May and September-October
Document: Prepare for a Field Trip
Registration: Schedule a Field Trip

Fish Seining Science Project- cancelled

Description: Use the scientific method and participate in an ongoing reserve research project by collecting data, participating in hands-on science and using data in the classroom.
This program is temporarily cancelled due to COVID concerns.
Grades: 7-12
Length: 2-3 hours
Offered: Wednesdays and Thursdays, September-May
Document: Prepare for a Field Trip
Registration: Schedule a Field Trip

Natural Resources–Forestry (cancelled)

Description: Identify native trees and learn how to measure forest health. This program is temporarily cancelled due to COVID concerns.
Grades: 8–12
Length: 3 hours
Offered: Wednesdays and Thursdays, March, September and October
Document: Prepare for a Field Trip
Registration: Schedule a Field Trip

Science Service Project - cancelled

Description: Learn about the threat of invasive species to our coastal habitats by participating in an invasive species pull with South Slough staff.
This program is temporarily cancelled due to COVID concerns.
Grades: 5-12
Length: 2-4 hours
Offered: Wednesdays and Thursdays, September–May
Document: Prepare for a Field Trip
Registration: Schedule a Field Trip

Tideflats - cancelled

Description: Discover what lies beneath the mud. Students will dig, collect and observe organisms living between the tides. This program is temporarily cancelled due to COVID concerns.
Grades: 3-12
Length: 2–3 hours
Offered: Wednesdays and Thursdays, April & May
Document: Prepare for a Field Trip
Registration: Schedule a Field Trip

Treasures of South Slough Reserve- cancelled

Description: Begin when the treasure chest arrives in your classroom. The chest holds lesson plans, activities and accompanying learning tools to involve students over the course of a week. When students arrive at South Slough for the field trip, they will hike to the shoreline of the estuary and embark on an adventure along the “treasure trails.” Clues will guide students and by the end of the day, they will have learned enough to find the treasure.
This program is temporarily cancelled due to COVID concerns.
Grades: 4 & 5
Length: 4-5 hours
Offered: Wednesdays and Thursdays, September–October
Document: Prepare for a Field Trip
Registration: Schedule a Field Trip

Watershed to Estuary Hike

Description: Begin at the head of the freshwater and follow the creek to the estuary. Discover plants and animals along the way and discover where the fresh becomes salt. Journal?
Grades: Pre-K - 12
Length: 3-4 hours
Offered: Tuesday-Friday, March–May and September–October
Document: Prepare for a Field Trip
Registration: Schedule a Field Trip

Click on one of the above links to select a field trip. For more information please
contact:

Eric Dean
Education Program Specialist
Phone: 541-888-5558 Ext. 126
eric.s.dean@state.or.us

Invite an educator to your school or virtual classroom

Field trip extensions:

South Slough is happy to assist with extend student learning experiences, in addition to a Reserve field trip. Introductory or follow up lessons help tie the field experience to larger topics and make learning even more meaningful. Activities will connect field trips to the classroom, and help students recognize patterns, concepts, and ideas.

Other estuary lessons:

For classes that cannot make it out to the South Slough Reserve with their students, we have engaging lessons available that focus on estuary habitats, watershed concepts, climate issues and research being conducted at the South Slough and other reserves around the country (See the resources list on the right side of this page). South Slough educators can introduce, assist, or lead these lessons with your students.

Guest speaker:

Reserve educators, and even science staff, love to talk and share with students about career experiences, areas of special expertise, and of course the South Slough Estuary! Contact us to discuss the possibilities.

Click here to request an educator to visit your school.

Click here to request a virtual visit with an educator.

For more information about these classroom or virtual visits please contact:

Jaime Belanger
Education Coordinator
Phone: 541-888-5558 Ext. 127
Jaime.C.Belanger@state.or.us