Summary
See what is happening this Fall with KBNERR education updates.
Fall is a busy and exciting time for education at the Reserve with schools back in session!
Peatland Pocket Guide
Over the course of the summer, naturalist and artist Kim McNett worked with KBNERR education staff to put together a peatland pocket guide to be used by community members and classroom teachers as an education tool about the importance and reverence of peatlands on the Kenai Peninsula (and beyond!). We are so excited to announce that it is out and being used in the field! Printed on waterproof paper it is a beautiful companion for peatland exploration and we look forward to continuing to make improvements so it may be the best community resource it can be.
Teachers on the Estuary Teacher Training!
On September 24th and 25th educators from Homer and across the bay in Port Graham, Nanwalek, and Seldovia will come together to gain hands-on experience with the research and monitoring efforts taking place within our local watersheds. Teachers will discuss groundwater resources, the importance of peatlands for water storage, juvenile salmon habitat, estuary plankton, and salt march ecosystems. By the end, they will walk away with practical tools for bringing place-based science into their classrooms, and an expanded network of educators, scientists, and local organizations to collaborate with.
Peatland field trips at McNeil
The third and fourth grades at McNeil Elementary School spent two days exploring the rich and diverse landscape right outside their door. On the first day Kim McNett led the students in learning the different types of mushrooms present here in Homer, after which students went out to see what they could find around the school. The following day students walked out into the peatland where they explored topics of water quality and quantity, took peat core samples, and used the Peatland Pocket Guide to look at the different layers of vegetation present in peatland plant communities.
Discovery labs
With bones, fur, claws, and tusks, the September discovery lab at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center is focused on marine mammals and their amazing bones! Through the Kachemak Bay Environmental Education Alliance, KBNERR staff supported Ranger Kendra at Fish and Wildlife to guide sixth graders from West Homer Elementary in the exploration of marine mammals. Students learned about how one can learn a lot about an animal through the study of its bones (osteology), and had the opportunity to observe all the differences and similarities that exist between fissipeds (mammals with segmented toes), pinnipeds (flipper footed mammals), and cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises). If you are interested in exploring this discovery lab yourself, it will be open to the public at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center Saturday, September 26th from 1-4pm.
Save the date – Kachemak Bay Environmental Educator Alliance (KBEEA) fall meeting
In collaboration with the Pratt Museum, Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, and Fish and Wildlife, KBNERR convened a KBEEA steering committee meeting to plan a fall gathering for all local organizations involved. We are excited to share that the meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 18th from 12-3 at the Pratt Museum, so save the date KBEEA members!