Education
Field Trips
San Fernando Valley Audubon Society’s outstanding environmental education program, Water, Wetlands and Wildlife, takes place at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area. Each school year, we provide field trips to the Wildlife Area for sixty classes from the fourth, fifth and sixth grades in the Los Angeles Unified School District and a workshop for teachers new to the program.
Many of the nearly 2,000 children who participate in the program are from low-income families, and live in heavily urbanized areas in the San Fernando Valley and central city. For many of the children, the program offers their first adventure into a natural environment.
The program is free to the schools except for a $100 fee towards the cost of a bus large enough to hold two classes.
Teacher Workshops and Student Tours
To prepare for the field trips, the new teachers attend a day-long workshop on the ecology of riparian wetlands and receive subscriptions to Audubon Adventures.
Then, each pair of classes is invited for a morning at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area. On the field trip, they use binoculars to watch birds like White Pelicans, cormorants, ducks, egrets, herons and hawks and use microscopes to view tiny organisms that live in the lake. They also learn about native plants and animals, ecological interrelationships, the reclaimed water in the lake and creek, the riparian trees and shrubs, and the flood control basin surrounding them. A pamphlet entitled Birds of the Sepulveda Basin is available here.
Are You a Teacher Who Would Like to Bring Your Class to Sepulveda Basin?
If you teach grade 4, 5 or 6 in an LA Unified School, you may be eligible for the Water, Wetlands and Wildlife tours. Contact our youth activities chair right after school starts in the fall to sign up for these tours.
We also sponsor a limited number of less formal tours. Teachers in private schools or those not eligible for these tours may be able to arrange for a tour led by volunteers from the San Fernando Valley Audubon.
To arrange a field trip, contact Youth Activities Chair, Carolyn Oppenheimer at 818-885-7493 (before 7 PM) or Muriel Kotin at 310-457-5796, fax 310-457-0763.
You Can Become a Naturalist
If you love nature and like working with children, you may wish to train to become one of our naturalists.
No formal experience is necessary. We need enthusiastic nature lovers who love to share their knowledge. Training begins with a series of classes taught by scientists and seasoned naturalists. It also includes observing and co-leading actual children’s tours.
Training sessions take place in the fall. There is a $50 fee. If you are interested, call the Education Coordinator of the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, our partner in charge of naturalists: Stephen Vodantis at 818-597-8627 ext. 103.
Classroom Programs
San Fernando Valley Audubon volunteers visit classrooms and youth groups with presentations on birds. Youngsters respond actively to questions about differences between various kinds of birds.
We also sponsor classroom subscriptions to the Audubon Adventures newsletters with teachers’ guides.
For more information on classroom visits or Audubon Adventures, contact Education Chair Pat Jacobs at 818-222-2456.
Weekend Walks
San Fernando Valley Audubon leads bird walks for families and beginning adults at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area on second Saturday mornings at 9:00, October through March.
Special walks for youth and other groups may also be arranged. For more information, contact Muriel Kotin at 310-457-5796 or Linda Jones at 818-831-6061.
A pamphlet entitled Birds of the Sepulveda Basin is available here.
Contributions
An all-volunteer organization, San Fernando Valley Audubon funds its education programs through donations, membership dues and grants.
SFVAS accepts donations dedicated to its Education Program. If you would like to help us support this worthwhile environmental education program, please send your tax-deductible contribution to:
SFVAS Education Program
PO Box 7769
Van Nuys CA 91409-7769
Our Gift to Children
Our goal is to help children become more knowledgeable about the natural world, more comfortable in it, more aware of their relationship to it, and more apt to care for it responsibly. For some students, the trip opens their eyes to the possibilities of scientific studies.
