Elementary Environmental Education Programs

NO AVAILABILITY LEFT FOR THE SPRING SEASON, WE ARE COMPLETELY BOOKED FOR EDUCATIONAL FIELD TRIPS

PVNC offers exciting outdoor environmental education for schools and groups of elementary age children!

Meandering streams, fields, thickets, woodlands, wetlands and Lake Galena offer diverse habitats to enhance your child's experience and awaken their senses to the wonders of the natural world. Working with small groups, our environmental educators will lead each activity in our 750 acre outdoor classroom.

One program per day = $9-$10 per student, Two programs per day = $15 per student

(1 or 2 adults per group of 10 students)

If your group has students with special needs, please notify us at the time of scheduling so we may provide the best possible experience for your group.

For questions regarding programming or to schedule a program:

Jenn Bilger, Environmental Education Manager

Email: v-jlbilger@buckscounty.org

Phone: 267-880-5047

HOMES & HIDEAWAYS

Every animal has a home - discover the needs of animals while searching for different types of homes and hideaways. Visit a meadow to search for mouse runs, thicket areas for signs of deer, rabbits and other animals.

GRADES: K-2

SEASON: SPRING, SUMMER, FALL ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A groundhog is looking out of a hole in a tree.

SENSORY WALK

Explore the natural world with your senses. Traveling through diverse habitats, students will discover colors of nature, sounds, and smells. Observation and hands-on activities, including a “smelling” tea party, provide a great way for your students to understand and apply the concepts of senses to their natural surroundings.

GRADES: K-3

SEASON: ALL SEASONS ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A green bee is sitting on a purple flower

SEEDS

Seeds are beautifully designed packages. Take apart a seed to discover the tiny new plant inside. Figure out why each plant has so many seeds and find out how they travel. Recognize through observation why seeds are an important food source for many animals, including us!

GRADES: K-3

SEASON: FALL ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A close up of a plant with seeds coming out of it.

WILD & WONDERFUL FLOWERS

Students will discover the wonder of nature's creation of flowers. Why do plants have flowers? Look for pollinators and watch them in action! Dissect a flower and discover its parts. Build a flower, go on a flower hunt and discover the beauty and diversity of flowers.

GRADES: 1-4

SEASON: LATE SPRING, SUMMER, EARLY FALL ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A close up of two red flowers surrounded by green leaves.

GEOLOGY

Rocks & minerals, fossils, soil and water are all part of our planet earth. Discover how rocks form, view fluorescent rocks and fossils. Through hands-on experiments and observation, students will discover the properties and resources rocks and minerals provide.

GRADES: 2-4

SEASON: SPRING, SUMMER, FALL ~2 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A pile of rocks laying on top of each other

HABITATS

Biomes are large geographic areas that contain many habitats. Students will explore the different habitats searching for clues of who or what would be there. They will then classify their discoveries. Observation of the habitats will reveal many answers to the question of who might live here as well as what that organism would need to survive.

GRADES: 2-4

SEASON: ALL YEAR ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A tree surrounded by ferns and leaves in a lush green forest.

ANIMAL REAL ESTATE

All animals have specific needs which include food, water, shelter & space. Each student will research one animal that lives at Peace Valley Nature Center. At PVNC we search near the pond and/or stream, in the woods, thickets and fields for signs of those animals and discuss their relationship and interdependence to the environment.

GRADES: 3-5

SEASON: SPRING, SUMMER, FALL ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A group of children are looking at something in the dirt

ECOSYSTEMS - HABITATS & INHABITANTS - Interdependence & Relationships

Explore the diverse habitats of Peace Valley searching for signs of animal life. Relate the animal to its needs and home as well as assess the interactions of the living and non-living components. Age appropriate activities and emphasis on these important concepts through discovery and observation.

GRADES: 3-6

SEASON: SPRING, SUMMER, FALL ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A butterfly is perched on a yellow flower

W.R.A.P.S. Water, Rocks, Air, Plants, Sun: The Essential Ingredients for Life

Make a friend of a green leaf, find out where it gets its energy. Scientifically investigate and compare succession through plant diversity in a field, thicket or forested area. Take a “walk in time” that will create an understanding of the time-based relationship of plant growth.

GRADES: 3-6

SEASON: LATE SPRING, SUMMER, EARLY FALL ~2 hours

FEE: $10.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

The sun is shining through the leaves of a tree.

SOIL SECRETS - The Dirty Rotten Truth

Who is living in that soil? Explore the layers of soil. Dig down and discover soil horizons. Identify some macrofauna living in the soil. Investigate and record what's happening in a rotting log. Using riddles and on-trail discovery, learn the rotten truth!

GRADES: 4-6

SEASON: SPRING, SUMMER, FALL ~1.5 hours

FEE: $10.00 per child (minimum $100.00)

A bunch of mushrooms are growing on a rock.

WETLANDS & WATERSHEDS

Discover the importance of wetlands as a wildlife habitat, a buffer against storms, a filtering system and flood control. Using a model watershed, learn how humans impact waterways with pollution. Visit a stream to collect macroinvertebrates to determine stream quality. Determine a wetlands through the use of equipment by identifying plants, soils and the presence of water.

GRADES: 4-6

SEASON: LATE SPRING, SUMMER, EARLY FALL ~2 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A swamp filled with tall grass and water.

BIRDS

Discover what makes a bird different from other animals, unzip a feather, find out how different beaks fill the bill, observe birds feeding and build your own bird nest in a fun activity.

GRADES: K-6

SEASON: ALL YEAR ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A bird is standing in a nest with its wings outstretched.

POND & STREAM STUDY

Discover diving beetles, crayfish, water boatman and aquatic nymphs. Through observation, learn about the adaptations of these fascinating creatures that enable them to survive in their aquatic habitat. Compare moving (lotic) and still (lentic) water systems and the animals that live in them.

GRADES: K-6

SEASON: LATE SPRING, SUMMER, EARLY FALL ~1.5 or 2 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A close up of a bug swimming in the water.

INSECTS

What are the special adaptations of insects? Learn about their lifecycles. Collect and observe insects. Compare and contrast their mouthparts, shapes, legs, wings, etc. The world of six-legged creatures is amazing and awe inspiring.

GRADES: K-6

SEASON: LATE SPRING, SUMMER, EARLY FALL ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)

A black and orange bug is sitting on a green leaf.

LENAPE NATIVE AMERICANS—Respect for Life

There is much to be learned from the Native Americans. Search for medicinal plants, play games, follow trail signs, and experience some of the skills used by the Lenape. Have a quiet time to observe the nature that surrounds us.

GRADES: 1-6

SEASON: SPRING, FALL ~2 hours

FEE: $10.00 per child (minimum 10 children, maximum 50 children)

A statue of a face is carved into a tree trunk

MAPLE SUGARING & TREES

Learn about the structure of trees and their importance in ecosystems. Listen to sap flow, visit the “sugar bush” to see tapped trees. Experience the signs of spring. Taste the product of the sugar maple trees. Visit the kettle to see sap boiling down into syrup.

GRADES: 1-6

SEASON: FEBRUARY ~1.5 hours

FEE: $9.00 per child (minimum $90.00)