What will we explore?
Our environmental education field trips cover a wide range of topics. We offer over two dozen field trip lessons and counting! Explore our current field trip opportunities by grade below.
We offer two exciting programs that are adaptable to many grades and classroom standards:
Pollination
Students learn about one or more of our amazing pollinators through age-appropriate activities like getting an up-close look at a honey bee comb or taking the incredible journey of a monarch butterfly from Canada to Mexico through an exciting game that takes them through the entire garden.
Garden Tour
Students take a tour of the greenspace, meet the chickens, see the honeybees in action, observe the pond ecosystem, and explore the Wylde Woods.
Five Senses Walk (SKP1)
Students will explore the garden and woods engaging their senses every step of the way. They will smell herbs, feel fuzzy or smooth leaves, listen to birds and other wildlife, taste garden produce if available, and use their sense of sight to take it all in.
Rocks and Soil (SKE2)
During our rocks and soil program students will examine many different types of rocks and group them based on their physical attributes. We will discuss how soil is formed and get down and dirty as we explore different soil types.
Living vs. Nonliving (SKL1, SKL2)
This program explores living and nonliving features of the garden.We will discover offspring of various plants and animals living in the garden and group them based on their observable characteristics, and discover the nonliving aspects of the garden, which are vital to the survival of the living ones!
Characteristics and Basic Needs of Plants and Animals (S1L1)
We will hike to find the different plants and animals living at the garden and discuss the basic needs of both. We will examine how they move, grow and reproduce, and how they are uniquely adapted to living in their environment.
Scientific Drawing (S1CS5, S1L1)
Students will explore the garden or woods to find objects that they want to learn more about. They will then create a scientific drawing of their object, identifying and labeling its main parts as they observe them.
George Washington Carver (SS1H1)
The garden setting is the perfect place to explore the amazing accomplishments of George Washington Carver. We will take a close look at how he used sweet potatoes and peanuts to transform the practice of farming into what is still considered best practices used today.
Wylde Woods Exploration (S2E3)
We will look for evidence of organisms living in the garden and note any impact that they have had on their surroundings. We will walk in Wylde Woods, amongst the all native plantings and discuss nonnative species impact on natives.
Life Cycles (S2L1)
This program provides an up-close look at many of the plants and animals living in the garden and examination of these organisms in various stages in their life. We will learn the life cycle of plants by observing seeds and the plants they grow into, learn about the life cycle of chickens by meeting the Wylde Center chickens and observing their eggs, and/or find out how worms and composting help start the life cycle all over again.
Native American History in the Garden (SS2H1)
Students will learn about how the Native American used various plants and animals for food, medicine, and tools and discover their remarkable culture. They will also learn about some of their food cultivation practices that are still in use today, like companion planting methods used in a three sisters garden.
Habitat Exploration (S3L1)
Students will learn about the features that make up a suitable habitat while exploring the woods, stream and garden habitats at the Center and investigating the plants and animals unique to each. We will explore the stream running through the property and students will conduct an experiment to determine the health of the stream.
Rocks and Soil (S3E1)
Students investigate different soils in the greenspace, and note differences in soils that support various plant life. They also learn about carnivorous plants and the unique ways they thrive in poor soil, and dissect a carnivorous plant to discover what it "ate" (if available.)
Water Cycle (S4E3)
Students will play a game to experience the journey of a drop of water, and build their own water filter to learn about how the water cycle directly impacts us.
Food Web (S4L1, S4L2)
Students identify consumers, producers, and decomposers and follow the flow of energy through the ecosystem. They also learn about the impact invasive species have on native populations
Plant Classification (S5L1)
Students study plants to learn how and why scientists classify them based on the presence of vascular tissues and their ability to make seeds.
Vertebrate or Invertebrate? (S5L1)
Students will explore life at the green space and hunt for organisms on land and in the stream. They will learn about the differences between vertebrates and invertebrates and find examples of both.
Stream Study (S5E1)
Students explore Shoal Creek to discover how water shapes land through constructive and destructive forces and impacts animals in the ecosystem..
Microorganisms at Work (S5L4)
Students will learn about how extremely vital microorganisms are to our world. They will go for a microorganism hunt to identify key decomposers and learn to identify beneficial and harmful organisms in the garden.
We do not have set programs for high school students, but are happy to develop programs based on the needs of your class. Please contact Allison Ericson to find out more.
We do not have set programs for high school students, but are happy to develop programs based on the needs of your class. Please contact Allison Ericson to find out more.
We do not have set programs for high school students, but are happy to develop programs based on the needs of your class. Please contact Allison Ericson to find out more.
We do not have set programs for high school students, but are happy to develop programs based on the needs of your class. Please contact Allison Ericson to find out more.