Naturalists At Large - Sites by Program: Overview

Sites by Program

Overview: The Educational Program

The Naturalists at Large program is designed to express a "sense of place." This is accomplished by introducing students to the natural and cultural history of the terrain while they explore the trails, study the various habitats and live in the area.

You select the academic emphasis. Your students study the ecology and environment when they investigate the plants, animals, marine life, geology and human history of the area you have chosen. They develop skills in group cooperation and leadership abilities through shared common experiences. All of this serves to help the group develop a greater sense of identity.

The academic program emphasizes the abiotic, biotic and cultural aspects of the region along with outdoor skills. Naturalists at Large takes responsibility for evening activities, such as an all-class evening program, star talks, night hikes and group campfires.

The school assigns each person to a trail group. Naturalists at Large instructors work with their students to teach basic outdoor skills, supervise meals, conduct educational hikes (primarily a mix of walk-and-talks and hands-on activities) on trails, beaches and along waterways. Students are encouraged to solve problems, posed by Naturalists at Large instructors, comprised of intellectual and physical challenges and initiative games.

We design academic programs to meet your goals.

Academic Themes can include:

-Bird watching
-Freshwater or saltwater biology
-Riparian studies
-Plant communities: botany, ecology, plant identification and forest management
-Adaptations of plants and animals
-Geology: land forms, tectonic processes and rock identification
-The stars: cosmology, constellations and mythology
-Environmental resource management
-Water resources: pollution, sewage treatment, water sources and water politics
-Invertebrate zoology
-Cultural history
-Journalizing
-Ecology

Ask how Naturalists at Large can assist in developing and implementing your school's community service requirement at one of our outdoor program sites.

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Why Use NAL?

Sites by Region

-North Coast

-San Francisco Bay Area &

Santa Cruz

-Sierra Nevada

-Central Coast

-Santa Monica Mountains

-Catalina Island

-Southern Mountains

-Deserts