We hosted two field trips on the Preserve this fall to see spawning salmon. One of the trips included 83 fourth graders from Manchester Elementary and the other trip was a group of 13 third graders from the Island School.
We love sharing the Preserve with students. As part of our educational programming, we work to customize field trips for each school so that their experience meets their needs. Due to the generosity of donors at our annual Fall for Fish event, we will be able to host even more students and share the outdoor experience on the Preserve with them in 2025. We used our Fall for Fish donations to replenish our transportation award fund that we established to ensure equitable access to outdoor education for students of all backgrounds and life experiences.
Many people don’t know that the most expensive part of field trips is the bus transportation, and many schools are not able to afford the transportation costs associated with a field trip. With your help, we are closing the access gap to outdoor educational opportunities. We are thrilled to be able to support schools by awarding them some much-needed financial assistance.
Environmental education is something that we are passionate about and through our support of these exceptional projects, we are able to impact thousands of students, some of whom will be our next biologists, scientists, and conservation advocates.
We could go on and on about the work that these groups do and how honored we are to be part of their work to foster a sense of belonging and connection in nature. That’s what we call making a significant impact in environmental education and health!
– Katha Miller-Winder, President