Spring 2010 Bernheim Field
Trip Programs
Getting to Know Your Animal Friends
Pre-K and K
A movement to reconnect children with nature is growing among educators and parents as an increasing body of study, including Richard
Louv’s “Last Child in the Woods,” makes the case for learning in and about the outdoors. This program is designed
to make children comfortable in the natural world and engaged by the nature around them.
What participants will experience includes:
• A view of a micro habitat through the windows of the wildlife viewing room
• A visit to see live deer, a great horned owl and Corny the corn snake
• A short walk in the woods on the I Spy Trail
• A visit to the picnic and play grounds
Ways in which this program supports core content include:
• Problem solving and learning through active explorations
• Language development – listening, speaking and becoming familiar with books
• Child-initiated and teacher-supported play
Our Native Wildlife
Grades 1 – 3
Native Americans had a close relationship with the wildlife around them.
They thought of them as their brothers and sisters. Today, our native
wildlife continue to play an important role in sustaining our ecosystem.
What participants will learn about includes:
• The wildlife that our region was once home to, but who no longer live here
• Some of the common wildlife that might be living right in your own neighborhood
• The role that wildlife play in helping us maintain the balance of nature
• How our native are adapting to human encroachment on their habitat,
and what we can do to help them
Ways in which this program supports core content include:
• An explanation of the basic needs of organisms
• The basic relationships of plants and animals
• An understanding that organisms can survive only in environments that meet their needs
A Wacky Water Ecology Show
Grades 1 – 3
Water is one of our most precious resources. This program will help
participants understand just how valuable water really is and give them
a chance to win “valuable prizes.” Plus, they will get to
see Dr. Drip Drop’s amazing “Polut-O-Matic” in operation!
What participants will learn about includes:
• An overview of Kentucky’s water resources
• Threats to the quality of our water
• Strategies for protecting our water
• What each person can do to conserve and sustain our water quality
Ways in which this program supports core content include:
• An understanding that water on earth and in the atmosphere can be solid, liquid, or gas
• An explanation of the water cycle
• An understanding of how water is useful for different purposes
Habitat Observation Hike
Grades 4 – College
Habitat loss is one of the biggest threats to our environment.
Humans are responsible for the vast majority of habitat loss, but they
are also capable of replacing lost habitats. In addition to the Bernheim
Visitor’s
Center “green roof,” hike destinations include a pond, native
prairie display and a forest habitat, all which have been created within
the arboretum.
What participants will learn about includes:
• Ways that habitats are lost or altered
• The results of habitat loss
• The components of a healthy habitat
• What you can do to create more habitat in your own yard
Ways in which this program supports core content include:
• An explanation of long and short term changes to the Earth’s surface
• An understanding of the relationship between plants and animals in a habitat
• An understanding of the impact of habitat change
Stream Ecology and Stream Restoration at Wilson Creek
Grades 4 – College
This program provides a unique opportunity for hands on study of stream
ecology and stream restoration. Sometime in the past 200 years this stream
channel was straightened to one side of a valley, probably to allow for
farming. In 2003, the stream was restored to its natural meandering channel.
The Wilson Creek project now provides an experimental model that will
be monitored over time to help us learn how to better protect our valuable
water resources.
What participants will learn about includes:
• An historic overview of Kentucky’s water resources
• What factors contribute to the health of a stream habitat
• How the Wilson Creek channel was restored
• What has resulted thus far at Wilson Creek
• What can individuals do to help streams keep our water clean
Ways in which this program supports core content include:
• An explanation of the consequences of changes to the Earth’s surface
• An understanding that distinct environments support the lives of different types of organisms
• An understanding of how the use of scientific ways of thinking and working
and the use of those methods can solve real-life problems
Word For The Day: Sustainability
Grades 4 – College
Sustainable thinking is becoming an increasingly common strategy
for people to improve their lives. Early proponents of this thought process
included environmentalists and architects. Bernheim’s award winning
Visitor Center is a model for sustainable design and the concept of “green” architecture.
Was I.W. Bernheim, our founder, “thinking sustainably” when
he established Bernheim Forest?
What participants will learn includes:
• The five keys to sustainable thinking
• How is a Building like a tree
• The sustainable attributes of Bernheim’s Visitor Center
• How you can begin to think sustainably today
Ways in which this program supports core content include:
• A classification of human interactions in environments as beneficial or harmful
• An understanding of the impact of long term changes in environments
• An understanding of how the use of scientific ways of thinking and working
and the use of those methods can solve real life problems
Other Bernheim Field Trips
Other guided field
trips supporting specific areas of interest and study may also be requested
and include programs in such areas as water ecology, horticulture, natural
areas, sustainability and nature and the arts.
Groups may also request approval to explore Bernheim on their own. An
assortment of free activities is available. Groups who want to visit
on their own are asked to also complete the Field Trip Request form to
help ensure that they have chosen a date/time when other large groups
are not also visiting Bernheim. |
