Teacher's Page

Inspiration, Field Trips, and Hands-On Education

A wide variety of resources for learning about the San Francisco Bay Delta watershed.

• Aquarium of the Bay
  A unique nature center dedicated to inspiring conservation of the San Francisco Bay and its surrounding waters. Classes focus on inquiry-based, hands-on learning experiences that include scientific activities, games, and a guided tour of the aquarium.
• Bay Institute’s STRAW Project
  STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) provides teachers and students with the scientific, educational, and technical resources to prepare them for hands-on watershed studies outdoors, including ecological restoration of riparian corridors and wetlands.
• The Bay Model
  Offers a unique opportunity for teachers and students to learn about the geography, topography, ecology, and human and natural history of San Francisco Bay and the Delta. Education programs are specific to grade level and subject.
• Saving the Bay Education
  Discover San Francisco Bay with the experts! Use their map to explore programs for school groups offered by local agencies and informal education organizations about the ecology and history of San Francisco Bay. Many wonderful opportunities exist—field trips, on-site programs, classroom visits, and teacher trainings.
• Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary
  Learn scientific methods of inquiry while exploring local geology, watersheds, tides, and tide pools. Using nets, buckets, mud sieves, observations, and creativity, students uncover the diverse and fascinating habitats and animals living along the shore.
• Shorebird Park Nature Center
  Estuary education classes provide exciting, hands-on opportunities for students to explore intertidal and dock life along the East Bay shoreline. Sailing and research programs are offered for fourth through 12th grades. The City of Berkeley’s Shorebird Park Nature Center is the first municipal strawbale building in the United States.
• Don Edwards S. F. Bay National Wildlife Refuge
  Investigate the waters of the Bay, taste pickleweed in the salt marsh, and learn about birds and other wildlife. The experiential learning environment explores the topics of water use, wastewater treatment, and habitat preservation.
• The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District
  Operates a wetlands interpretive center specializing in salt marsh natural history. Hands-on experiential field trips along the Hayward shoreline for pre-K through 7th grade students highlight the plants and animals of San Francisco Bay.
• KIDS for the BAY
  Offers a variety of Bay-focused programs that are correlated to California state standards in science, math, and language arts. Programs include one-day Creek and Bay Field Trip Explorations and a yearlong Watershed Action program.
• Save The Bay
  Daylong programs consist of Canoes in Sloughs and community-based restoration in locations around the Bay. Canoe trips are offered for a fee based on a sliding scale; restoration programs are free. Optional one-hour, in-class presentations prepare students for field trips.
• Find a Local Wildlife Refuge and Take a Tour
  National Wildlife Refuges are a great place to learn about California's threatened or endangered species and many offer guided tours of wetlands, estuaries and wild bird habitat.