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Education Updates

May 20, 2026 | News

Summary

An update of KBNERR education and Kachemak Bay Environmental Education Alliance activities in Spring of 2026.

Spring education at the reserve was as busy as always! This spring you could find our education staff across the bay for Sea Week, on the Tiglax talking about plankton, at the Pratt Museum for peatland education, and at one of the many Shorebird Festival events. Most KBNERR education activities are in partnership with our Kachemak Bay Environmental Education Alliance partners.

Students and KBNERR staff in lab gathered around a table
Jasmine talks about the invasive European Green Crab with students
student holds a native crab
Students learned how to identify the type and gender of crabs found in Kachemak Bay

Tiglax Day on the Bay!

KBNERR education and monitoring staff spent the day on the Tiglax with high school students from Connections, Flex, Homer High School, and Port Graham. Jasmine Maurer led activities on invasive species identification, plankton monitoring and identification, and water quality monitoring.

two students look at moss and peat in a small cup.
Students learn about Peatlands
two students use pipets to put a sample in a petri dish
Two students use pipets to collect samples for data and research

Peatland Explorations and Classroom Cultivation celebrate another year of success.

Made possible by the EPA’s Education Grant program, and in partnership with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Pratt Museum, KBNERR was able to work with three schools on peatland education throughout the year. Each month, students from Homer Flex, Homer Middle School, and Nanwalek spent time learning about peatlands and the complex relationship between plants and their fungal partners. By monitoring growth of orchids in different treatments and with different fungi, students helped the Smithsonian better understand the conservation needs of our local orchid species. Students were able to look at their data, and make conclusions about their beginning of the school year hypothesis. 

Young kids walk on a board walk over a salt marsh
Junior birders go for a discovery walk during the shorebird festival
students look at a native crab in the harbor and measure it.
Janet Fink helps students identify the gender of a crab

Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival
This year the KBNERR education staff led the Teen Birding Program and was on the planning team of both the overall festival and the Jr. Birder Program. This was the most successful year of young birders ever with over 135 Jr. birders signed up. Programs led by KBNERR included guided walks in Mud Bay and Beluga Slough, Kittiwake Monitoring, Bird call identification, Jr. Birder discovery lab, Family bird trivia night, the Greatest Bird Race, and the Jr bird award ceremony. 

A special thank you to Janet Fink, who volunteered much of her time to assist with education activities throughout the past month!