Nature Field Trips

Nature educators will meet school groups at a Broome County Park for a three-hour field trip on a topic of your choice. Field trips include a guided nature walk, an activity led by a nature educator, and an activity led by a schoolteacher (materials provided by CCE). Activity options are listed below under each topic area.

In the event of poor weather, the field trip can be rescheduled if rebooking is available through BC Parks, or nature educators can come to your school for an adapted in-door program. School teachers can select from any of the BC Parks for their trip. CCE nature educators are happy to provide suggestions on which park(s) would be best suited for your selected topic/school group’s needs. More information about each park’s location, size, etc. can be found here:https://www.gobroomecounty.com/parks

Pond Study field trip:

Nature educators will meet your school group at either Nathaniel Cole Park or Greenwood Park* for a three-hour field trip focused on pond study. Students will be broken up into groups and will rotate through three 45-minute activities: a guided pond study, a guided nature walk, and a teacher led activity (see below, materials provided by CCE). Field trips also include a time for lunch (lunch not provided by CCE). The pond study portion of the trip includes collection of pond life including insects, mollusks, fish, amphibians, and more; followed be a discussion of the critters and the adaptations that allow them to thrive in our pond ecosystems.

Options for teacher-led activities:

Pond Web of Life: Illustrates interrelationships in the pond community by making connections between pond community members. What happens when a connection is broken? (Grades 3 and up)
Aquatic Life Concentration: Play a memory game that reinforces a variety of pond-related concepts. (Grades 3 and up)
"Are you me?": Many pond creatures go through lots of changes as they grow up. Can you match "babies" with their adult forms? (All Grades)
Create-A-Creature: Draw or build a mythical pond creature, equipped with adaptations which help it survive in a pond ecosystem. (Grades 2 and up)
Little Green Monsters: That plant can't be real, or can it? Learn about some real-life pond plants that seem to weird to be true. (All Grades)
Dirty Water: Demonstrates how easy it is for people to contaminate water and how hard it is to clean it up. (All Grades) **

*If a suitable pond is present on your school's campus, this field trip can be modified to be an on-site visit. Details can be discussed on an as-needed basis with CCE nature-education staff.

**Dirty Water is offered for smaller groups which would only need two-rotations (i.e. the pond study and the guided walk). Dirty Water is led by a CCE nature educator for the entire group following lunch (i.e. it takes the place of a third, "teacher-led" activity if three rotations are not needed due to a smaller group size).

Birds field trip:

Nature educators will meet your school group at a Broome County Park of your choice for a three-hour field trip focused on birds. Students will be broken up into groups and will rotate through three 45-minute activities: a guided nature walk, a CCE educator-led activity (see below), and a teacher led activity (see below, material provided by CCE). Field trips also include a time for lunch (lunch not provided by CCE).

Options for CCE educator-led activities:

“Oh, Birdie!”: An active game that demonstrates the dependence of birds upon appropriate habitat to meet their needs, and the effect on the birds’ population if those needs are not met. (Grades 2 and up)
Name that Bird: Become familiar with some of the many kinds of birds in our world in this active game. (Grades 3 and up)
Deadly Links: An active game introducing food chains and the impact of pesticides on birds and other wildlife. (Grades 3 and up)
Web of Life: Illustrates interdependence between all things, living and non-living, and man’s impact on the environment. (Grades 3 and up)
Bird Survivor: Students discover the life cycle of birds and the challenges that nesting birds face. (Grades 3 and up)
Migration Obstacle Course: Students run a migration obstacle course to actively experience some of the challenges that migrating birds face. (Grades 2 and up)
Bird Spy Bingo: An adapted game of bingo focused on birds and bird activity, included as part of the guided nature walk.

Options for teacher-led activities:

Bird Concentration: A card game matching bird adaptations with facts about each one. (Grades 3 and up)

Mammals field trip:

Nature educators will meet your school group at a Broome County Park of your choice for a three-hour field trip focused on mammals. Students will be broken up into groups and will rotate through three 45-minute activities: a guided nature walk, a CCE educator-led activity (see below), and a teacher led activity (see below, material provided by CCE). Field trips also include a time for lunch (lunch not provided by CCE).

Options for CCE educator-led activities:

“Oh, Deer!”: An active game that demonstrates the dependence of mammals upon appropriate habitat to meet their needs, and the effect on the birds’ population if those needs are not met. (Grades 2 and up)
How Many Bears Can Live in this Forest?: An interactive game illustrating concepts of habitat and carrying capacity. (Grades 5 and up)
Quick Frozen Critters: An active game that illustrates predator/prey relationships and how behavioral adaptations affect the survival of an animal. (Grades 2 and up)
Food Chain Game: Introduces food chain and predator-prey relationships. (Grades 3 and up)
Web of Life: Illustrates interdependence between all things, living and non-living, and man’s impact on the environment. (Grades 3 and up)
Creature Features: This game acquaints students with animal adaptations. (Grades 4 and up)
Animal/Habitat Relay: A relay race challenging students to place animals in the proper habitat, or in the proper group. (All grades)
The Change Game: A predator/prey game that focuses on prey defenses and predator skill adaptations. Success rates of escape and capture are examined for both predator and prey. (Grades 3 and up)

Options for teacher-led activities:

Mammal Concentration: A memory and matching activity to introduce or review mammal characteristics and other facts. (Grades 3 and up)

Trees field trip:

Nature educators will meet your school group at a Broome County Park of your choice for a three-hour field trip focused on trees. Students will be broken up into groups and will rotate through three 45-minute activities: a guided nature walk, a CCE educator-led activity (see below), and a teacher led activity (see below, material provided by CCE). Field trips also include a time for lunch (lunch not provided by CCE).

Options for CCE educator-led activities:

Maple Seed Mix-Up: This active game teaches about what seeds need to sprout and grow! (All grades)
Keying out Trees: Students use a simple key/identification scheme to identify trees while out in nature. (Grades 3 and up)

Options for teacher-led activities:

Tree Concentration: Match tree names with facts about trees. (Grades 3 and up)
Picture Tree Concentration: Match pairs of pictures that represent concepts about trees and forests. (All grades)