Education in the Golden Gate National Parks Nurseries

Education is integrated into all we do in the nurseries.

Students from local schools (many of whom have never been to a national park) visit field restoration sites and the nurseries to learn by experiencing. Through the curricula based “Here’s the Dirt” high school program, the “National Park Labs” middle school program, or through service field trips, students learn the importance of biodiversity to a healthy world. They learn not by hearing a lecture, but by the feel of a unique leaf of the plant from which they are collecting seed, by looking at the universe inside the flower of a plant they are transplanting, or under the microscope to see the appendages on the seed they are cleaning. At the same time we discuss with them how each plant has evolved to survive in its environment, and with the animals that aid its pollination and seed dispersal. Students learn, by touching, seeing, and feeling how each fiber in the web of an ecosystem is essential to all other fibers in the web of life.

By calculating how many seedlings they need to transplant for their project site, by working along with staff and interns who are using biology, chemistry, math, and ecological principals to attempt to restore a shadow of a once vibrant landscape, our students gain a sense that today they have made a difference, and that they have the power to contribute towards a positive change in their community if they gain is school the tools they need.

The nurseries partner with other education programs of the Conservancy by enriching their programs with learning activities at the nurseries, including the Site Stewardship LINC Program and Crissy Field Center's after-school, summer camp, and public programs.