DIABLO NATURE ADVENTURES MAKES INCORPORATING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN YOUR CLASSROOM EASY ...

Diablo Nature Adventures (DNA) offers educational field trips for students in grades K-12 featuring the cultural and natural history of the Diablo Region. Field trips take place in various locations in Mount Diablo State Park and other open space areas. The programs emphasize the cultural and natural history of the Diablo Region through hands-on, discovery-based learning. Teachers are competent and enthusiastic naturalists. All programs have a strong land stewardship emphasis. DNA environmental education field trips have been enjoyed by 26,000 students, teachers and parents during the past 15 years and are continually evolving. They link well with California Content Standards. All programs last approximately 3 1/2 hours.
DNA programs are the perfect antidote to nature deficit disorder!

Preventing Nature Deficit Disorder by Jan Knecht (pdf file, 1 page).

School Programs for 2010

Creekology

• What is a riparian system and why is it important?
• What is a watershed and in which one do we find ourselves?
• What native plants are associated with creeks?
• What are the basics of amphibian and invertebrate metamorphosis?

Program Descriptions

MT. DIABLO STATE PARK

ON THE ROCKS
ROCK CITY- (GRADES 2-4) - GEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY - 3 HOURS/LUNCH IN THE PARK
This is the perfect introduction to the natural and cultural history of the Diablo Region for students in grades 2-4. While primarily an Earth Sciences Program, students will also become acqainted with plant communities and wildlife in one of Mt. Diablo's most popular areas. They will be introduced to the State Park's rocks and fossils and will have a chance to experience the area's fascinating wind caves. Short hikes are involved. 2 or 3 naturalists depending upon class size.

VIEWPOINTS
SUMMIT OF MT. DIABLO - (GRADES 5-8) - GEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY - 3 HOURS/LUNCH IN THE PARK
Students will learn about the origin and geology of Mt. Diablo through engaging activities. They will explore the Fire Interpretive Trail and participate with partners in a questing activity to learn the Franciscan rocks and geological features of the State Park's tallest peak. Stops in the Museum and atop the Summit Building will emphasize geology, geography, history and change through time - both recent and geological. Summit wildlife viewing and a few surprises are in store for participants.

SET IN STONE
SUMMIT TO ROCK CITY - (HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE) - GEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY - 4 HOURS (9 AM SUMMIT- 1 PM ROCK CITY)
Time is the essence for Set in Stone. Students make a trek through geological time that begins at the top of Mt. Diablo where they study the Park's oldest rocks and the role of plate tectonics in shaping the mountain. They ride the bus to Sunset picnic area where they have an early lunch to prepare them for the next leg of their 200 million year journey down the mountain from past to future. After leaving Rock City the group crosses the area of the Mt. Diablo Thrust Fault and learns about unconformities. Stops at a Turritella Fossil display and at wind caves follow. After learning how the wind caves were formed the group arrives at Rock City where their bus awaits. Breathtaking views of the Mountain's diverse topography and varied plant communities add to an already enriching day.

SHELL RIDGE OPEN SPACE AREA - FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

THE SANDS OF TIME
Sands of Time takes place in the 2,500 acres Shell Ridge Open Space Area. Students are introduced to the fossils of Shell Ridge and what they reveal about long ago landscapes there. Sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks are defined and local samples are handled by the youngsters. Students perform a play that explains the formation of Mt. Diablo and the surrounding foothills. Map skills are a part of the program. A nature hike emphasizes the flora and fauna of the grassland and oak woodland communities of the area and reveals how water has shaped the land. Change through time is an important theme and the study site is a great place to introduce geographic terms to the youngest students.

FOR FAMILIES, SCOUT GROUPS, SENIORS AND OTHERS

GUIDED WALNUT CREEK WATERSHED WALKS
Can be scheduled with DNA naturalists for your group of 10 or more. Two hour easy urban walks will highlight the cultural and natural history of the creeks of Walnut Creek and foster an understanding of watershed management and storm drain issues.

AFTER SCHOOL

BROWNIE BOTANY BADGE OUTINGS
This Watershed Walk was especially designed for Brownie Groups. Girls learn to identify the native and non-native plants of the vegetated areas along Walnut Creek (creek) in Civic Park. We meet at the Civic Park parking lot near the Orange Bridge and walk to the "River of Words" Sculpture on Broadway. There is a brief stop at the Creek Overlook on Lincoln Avenue. The girls will see where the creek goes underground and learn the well-kept secret of Broadway Pointe. $5 Student - $75 Minimum.

Teachers

JAN KNECHT
Jan Knecht recently retired as a veteran teacher with Mt. Diablo Unified School District. She taught over 30 years in first through fifth grades. She brought her second grade classes so often to explore Mt. Diablo with Judy Adler, that it began to feel like home. She joined the ranks of D.N.A nine years ago when she began teaching half time. She continues to indulge her love of nature and kids by working with D.N.A. in the classroom without walls.

KEN LAVIN
Ken Lavin has been a naturalist for Diablo Nature Adventures for over 10 years. He has worked as an interpretive park ranger and consultant for the National Park Service, both in the Marin Headlands and at Muir Woods National Monument, where he served as education coordinator for the park’s curriculum-based school program. At present, Ken is outings and volunteer coordinator for Greenbelt Alliance. He is a featured naturalist on Audio Mount Diablo, a free web-based nature and history tour offered by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Ken may also be heard on the Sierra Club’s web feature, Nature Notes.

BRIAN LAVIN
Brian seems to have had an interest in natural history since birth. As a youth he was an interpretive guide at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum and he spent one summer as an intern at the Oakland Zoo. Brian graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Psychology and Integrative Biology. Herpetology is a special area of interest for him.

SUE SKIFF
Sue Skiff is DNA's most recent addition. She received a Master's degree in Biological Ecology from U.C. Davis. Since 1995 she has been on the education staff at Lindsay Wildlife Museum where she has taught children's classes on wildlife and science, led wildlife programs at Los Vaqueros, co-led environmental field trips at Dow Wetlands and Mt. View Sanitary District and co-taught at assemblies on storm drain pollution. She has led adult and family trips and participated in the Museum's summer camp programs. California wildlife is her specialty.

KAREN SYNOWIEC
Karen Synowiec has been a naturalist with Diablo Nature Adventures for over the past 10 years. She served as secretary on the Board of Directors for Mt. Diablo Interpretive Association (MDIA) for 4 years and as hike leader/coordinator for MDIA, leading numerous hikes on Mt. Diablo as well as at Black Diamond Mines and Morgan Territory. Karen is a Hydrogeologist with Chevron Corporation where she has worked for the past 25 years. In her spare time she loves to hike with friends anywhere on Mt. Diablo or the Bay Area.

SAUNDRA TICKNER
Saundra is our bird enthusiast. When not teaching for Diablo Nature Adventures, she is kayaking to observe birds associated with watery environments, rescuing birds for the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in her backyard aviary or watching them visit her backyard pond. Pacific tree frogs also inhabit the pond. This new water feature is a source of endless fascination for her already inquiring mind.