Kelp and Me 3-part Program

NPS/Bethany Szczepanski

Title 1 Fourth Grade Teachers!!!! Pre-book your reservations for fall of 2024 now!

This program is available for fourth grade classes of schools with Title 1 status in Ventura County. This program is free of charge and transportation reimbursement will be available for your bus(es) while grant funding remains.

In this 3-part program (scheduled over 3 consecutive days), a ranger will visit your school on Tuesday, your class(es) will visit the Channel Islands National Park visitor center on Wednesday, and they will participate in a virtual visit with a ranger on Thursday.

Students discover the mysterious, magnificent algae known as giant kelp! Students will learn about the structures of giant kelp and the importance of kelp forests to marine animals and humans. Students will discover ways we use kelp and other seaweeds in our daily lives and engage in dialogue with rangers and volunteers about ways they can “help the kelp” as young stewards of the ocean! At the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center, students will engage with park rangers while investigating the structures and adaptations of marine and terrestrial life, including endemic species only found in the park!

Supports Next Generation Science Standard:

• NGSS 4-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes - Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

Program Logistics

This is a three consecutive day program available October – December on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. You must commit to all three program days. It consists of the following:

1. Tuesday – 1 hour program available between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM - a ranger will visit your school to begin the kelp forest explorations.
2. Wednesday – 2 hour program – earliest start time is 9:00 AM – latest start time is 10:00 AM - your class(es) will visit the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park to continue their journey with a ranger program and visitor center exploration.
3. Thursday – 1 hour program available between 9:00 AM and 12:30 PM - a ranger will visit your class virtually for a distance learning program to explore how we all can "help the kelp."

Important note: If you have more than 65 students, they will need to be split into two groups. Each group will visit the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center on two separate days (note: both day's buses will be reimbursed while grant funds are available). In this case, we will schedule half your students to visit the visitor center on Wednesday and half on Thursday. The virtual program will be scheduled for Friday of that week.

 

Schedule a Kelp and Me 3-part Program

Please follow all three steps to schedule your program.

Step 1: Reserve your week. Important!!!! You must select a Tuesday that is available on our Microsoft Bookings calendar in October, November, or December. When you select the Tuesday, it will schedule you for Tuesday plus the next two consecutive available days for your program.

You will receive an email that says "Your booking is confirmed." This holds the dates for you but your program is not confirmed until you complete steps 2 and 3 and receive a confirmation from the ranger. Disregard the timings you will receive in the initial bookings confirmation messages. We will send a confirmation email with your specific days and times at a later date.

Important Note: If you have more than 65 students, after booking your week, please email us at [e-mail] and we will add a day for your second visitor center visit.

Step 2: Complete all sections of the Reservation Request Form. Please follow these instructions:

• On the form, add your previously requested Tuesday date to Section 3 – Ranger-in-Classroom area.

• Add the Wednesday date to Section 2 - Park Visit/ Field Trip area

• Add the Thursday date to Section 4 - Virtual/Distance Learning Program area

• You DO NOT need to repeat information already provided in Section 1 in the other sections such as name, phone, email, etc...

Step 3: Email your form to [e-mail].

• Important: If we do not receive your Education Reservation Request Form within 7 days of receiving your Bookings date request, we will cancel your Microsoft Bookings reservation to open up the dates for other schools.
• After submitting your completed form, a park ranger will respond with a final confirmation email. If you do not receive this within two weeks, please email us. Please reach out with any questions to 805-658-5730 or email us.