www.ci.ventura.ca.us/depts/cs
Organization Type:
Government Agency
Mission:
To help students appreciate our natural and cultural history and encourage a lifelong respect and caring for the environment by providing the highest quality interactive science and cultural history education programs—both in an outdoor setting and in the classroom
Contact:
Barbara Orr, Interpretive Program Coordinator (to register)
Johnji Stone, Interpretive Program Supervisor (for information)
City of Ventura Interpretive Outreach Program
P.O. Box 99
Ventura, CA 93002
Phone: (805) 650-8137
Fax: (805) 644-6398
jstone@ci.ventura.ca.us
Geographical Focus:
Local
Counties Served:
Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Ventura
(Occasionally schools from Kern and San Diego counties participate)
Activities:
Education, Recycling, Recreation
Topic:
Wetlands, Cultural History, Beaches, Rocky Intertidal, Wildlife, Energy, Watershed Hydrology, Habitat Restoration, Endangered Species, Bay & Estuary Habitats
Educational Resources:
On-Site Programs, Guided Walks, Field Trips, Brochures
Education Programs:
The City of Ventura’s Interpretive Outreach Program has existed since 1983. During the 1999-2000 school year, more than 29,000 participants attended the 36 different program topics offered. We provide natural science field trips, living history field trips, puppetry programs, and classroom science and history presentations.
The 36 topic areas include the following:
- Wetland Adventures, a two hour field trip for (3-6 graders) where students hike along the Ventura River and seashore;
- Seaside Wilderness Park Outreach, a two hour field trip, plus one hour classroom presentation, with cobble tidepool exploration and investigation of sand dunes, a saltmarsh, and an estuary;
- Marina Park Outreach, a one hour seashore experience, (preschool to 2nd grade) is a program where students will learn about waves, sand dunes, and the plants and animals that live along our coast;
- Wildlife Lagoons Outreach, a two hour birdwalk with activities plus a one hour classroom presentation, (for 3rd to 6th grade) located next to the Santa Clara River Estuary;
- Life in the Coastal hills, a two-hour field trip (for 2nd to 6th grade) in Ventura’s coastal sage scrub habitat.
One hour classroom presentations include Marine Mammals, Coastal Birds of California, Life at the Edge of the Sea (coastal habitat-intertidal area, sandy beach, an estuary, and fragile dunes), Endangered Species, two water education programs (The Magic of Water, and Captain Hydro and the Water Bandits), and puppetry programs such as Marla the Mermaid and Company.
Target Audiences:
K-6th Grades, General Public
Group Size Accommodated:
Depends on program, generally 20 to 40
(One program can accommodate 60 students.)
Volunteer Opportunities