Our students learn about science and protecting the environment but nothing compares to seeing it first-hand. In today’s Parent to Parent, 7’s Lynn Martinez shows us where kids are getting a real-life lesson in nature.
WSVN — With the beaches, the trees and all that sea life, why would you not take a science lesson outside the classroom?
Theodora Long: “Letting children explore nature first-hand. They need to know what’s in their own backyard.”
Just across the bridge to Key Biscayne students can begin their adventure into nature.
Theodora Long: “You can see all of the Florida eco-systems in one location.”
At the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Nature Center at Crandon Park, kids get to experience wading through the waters of Biscayne Bay to walking through the mangroves.
One of the most popular parts of this field trip is the catch and release program.
Theodora Long: “Where the children drag nets in the sea grass beds and capture starfish, puffer fish, crabs and shrimp.”
Then they sit in a circle and show off the sea creatures they caught. However, this is way more than a day of fun in the sun, students learn how South Florida’s fragile eco-system works.
Ariana Morales: “We went to the ocean and we saw seaweed, algae and different types of seeds and organisms that live inside them.”
Ariana is a fifth grader and she says she learned more today, because she witnessed nature first-hand.
Ariana Morales: “Being out there seeing it, because then you can get a really good picture of how it is like.”
Her fellow student Armando, who loves the outdoors, learned about the Portuguese man-of-war.
Armando Pamillo: “Like even if dead its tentacles could still sting you.”
Kids get to hold hermit crabs and sea urchins and find out how they live and eat. Then, they take a 20 minute hike to see something very unique.
Theodora Long: “We have a fossilized reef, where there is only one other in the world, so this is quite an exotic thing to see.”
This four hour long field trip is a valuable lesson these kids won’t soon forget.
Armando Pamillo: “It’s so important, because the environment helps us live.”
Lynn Martinez: Two hundred students are bused to the Biscayne Nature Center every day. Below, you can find more information on signing your school up for this field trip.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center
(305) 361-6767
www.biscaynenaturecenter.org