FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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By Carol Hankermeyer FOE's first effort at community outreach to schools culminated in a successful student-led field trip to Edgewood Park for a class of 3rd and 4th graders from the San Carlos Charter Learning Center. Youth Partners in Parks was an idea conceived by Friends of Edgewood in the summer of 1997 and supported by San Mateo County Parks and Recreation. As Community Outreach Coordinator, Carol Hankermeyer worked with Friends of Edgewood and Parks and Rec. Volunteer Coordinator Lynne Fritz to develop a program of school service with the goal of fostering public interest in Edgewood Natural Preserve. Lynne was very helpful in providing resources, project ideas, and general support throughout the program development.
Carol recruited several outstanding Edgewood docents to help her instruct students on the flora, fauna, geology, and ecology of the preserve, as well as interpretive techniques suitable for a school-age audience. On four consecutive spring Wednesdays, 9 students visited Edgewood to learn about the serpentine grassland, chaparral, and mixed evergreen forest communities. Carol was fortunate to have John Allen, Joyce Nicholas, Toni Corelli and Cheryl Solomon accompany her on different occasions to share their expert knowledge and interpretive skills. We greatly appreciate their contribution. We were also very grateful to Patty Vitangeli, Doris Hume, Annette Caves, and other Charter School parents who generously donated their time to drive and supervise students during the training sessions. On May 14, twenty-four 3rd and 4th graders convened at the Day Camp to be led by their fellow students on a fascinating tour of the park. The 9 student docents were: Matthew Batema, Sarah Caves, Megan Drace, Shea Finnegan, Janet Frishberg, Jeffrey Hamilton, Ruth Graham, Kasi Krauss, and Shannon Zuvella. They had worked hard to design a varied and interesting program of interpretation, hiking, games, and activities to engage their younger schoolmates. The tours, led in three groups of eight to different park locations, lasted about 1½ hours, and all reported having a wonderful time.
On June 2 Charter Learning Center student docents conducted their second field trip to Edgewood Natural Preserve, hosting a 3rd/4th grade class from Seacrest School in Half Moon Bay. Toni Corelli, who is actively involved with the school, was co-coordinator for this field trip. The class of 18 students took a tour of the serpentine grassland and chaparral, ably guided by the 9 student docents from San Carlos. We were all pleased with the results, and the docents commented how attentive their audience was. When asked to evaluate their training experience, students commented that they appreciated:
Their only complaint was lack of time to absorb information and prepare sufficiently. These young docents deserve a great deal of credit for learning so much and creating such interesting tours in a very short period of time. Lynne Fritz commented how well prepared, The outcome of this pilot program was so successful that Inga Davis and Elise Darwish, Charter Learning Center Administrator, are planning to expand next year's student docent training and field trip program to involve more of the community and even include a fund-raiser for Edgewood! Elise and Inga envision a long-term partnership with Friends of Edgewood and see the Charter Learning Center as becoming a model school for youth stewardship and service to parks and natural preserves. |
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We were fortunate to team up
with Inga Davis, Resource Choreographer for the Charter Learning Center, who expressed a
strong interest in promoting school involvement with Edgewood. Of the various projects
considered, the school elected to offer a training seminar for a group of 5th
to 8th graders choosing to become student docents for the park.
knowledgeable,
and enthusiastic they were. In recognition of their accomplishment, the docents received
nametags and attractive certificates designed by Kathy and Bill Korbholz.