Point Bonita

Give your students the experience of outdoor science learning! Through activities, games, and team-building Challenges our naturalists help your students explore watersheds and schoolyard ecology. Appropriate for 4th to 6th grade classes, our lessons are aligned with California State Science Standards and reinforce classroom learning. Hands-on activities deepen students' understanding of classroom concepts and inspire the desire to learn!

This two-part series begins on your school grounds. Naturalists attune students to nature they may not have noticed, no matter how big or small your "natural" areas are. Through activities that demonstrate water cycles, watersheds, habitats, predator/prey relationships, and other natural cycles, students begin to understand their connections to science and the environment. During a school-yard scavenger hunt, students discover that nature can be found almost anywhere!

On day two, we expand students' sense of connection by taking them further into nature. Depending on teachers' interest and resources, naturalists take students to nearby natural areas, like community parks, or to our site in the 10,000 acre Marin Headlands. Depending on the destination, areas can be reached by walking, public transportation, or private bus.

Cost: $35/hour per naturalist. Naturalist group size is limited to 15 students. Scholarships are sometimes available! Please contact Andrew Boyd-Goodrich to find out about scholarship availability.

For more information, contact Program Director & Head Naturalist Jesse Wernick or Lead Naturalist

Kyyio Cecil-Raditz at (415) 331-9622.

To schedule a program, contact Rochelle Tolbert at (415) 331-9622.

Environmental Education Curriculum at Your School!

In a series of specially designed activities, lessons and field trips, Point Bonita educators lead students in the discovery and exploration of their schoolyard and neighborhood ecology! At its root, the word "ecology" means "the study of the home." By developing students' awareness of familiar spaces-schools, neighborhoods, and homes-their connection to and appreciation of the surrounding world deepens, encouraging a more complex understanding of ecological principles. In addition, students realize the power they have to positively impact their environment and community.

The My Home, My Community, My World program enlivens classroom science with tangible, hands-on learning that encourages students to continue their relationship with the environment on their own. Every class is matched with a YMCA naturalist, who works with them over the course of the entire school year. Naturalists work with teachers to establish lesson plans that reinforce and supplement classroom concepts. Activities are grade and age appropriate, developed in concert with California State Science Standards , and integrate multiple subjects other than just science-including physical education, mathematics, social studies, writing, and the arts!

Sample Lessons:

Primary grades use color-coded keys for a sensory treasure hunt of school-yard fauna and flora;

Play bug bingo! Use viewfinders to investigate the differences among bugs found on the schoolyard;

Hike the watershed surrounding the school, following a seasonal creek running through the schoolyard down to its end in the bay;

Hike to a neighborhood park to examine the diversity of native and introduced plants, exploring nature with all of the senses;

Learn about native birds and take a bird walk using binoculars and field guides;

Work together to solve our series of Challenges, or initiatives, ecologically-framed mental and physical "puzzles" that teach communication, cooperation, and team building skills.

Curriculum Synopses for Grades 1-5:

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Are there particular science standards you'd like to address in a more kinesthetic way?

Hire our naturalists for half-day or full-day samples of our curriculum themes! Choose a day or two from the above curriculum synopses.

Cost: $230/half day (3 hours with students); $350/full day (6 hours with students). Includes two naturalists for up to 30 students, all preparation time and transportation (for our naturalists) within the Bay Area.

For more information about My Home, My Community, My World at your school, please contact Lead Naturalist Kyyio Cecil-Raditz at (415) 331-9622, x480.