EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS OUTDOOR SCHOOLS a non-profit organizationText Box: 25 Years of Exploring New Horizons Text Box: This year Exploring New Horizons (ENH) will celebrate twenty five years of providing outdoor education for Bay Area schools. Last spring we told you about our early beginnings; in this issue Text Box: we will cover the last five years, including the forming of Sempervirens Outdoor School and the rebirth of ENH Summer Camp. For most of the 1990’s, ENH ran full at Loma Mar, and throughout the spring at Pigeon Point. Then in the late 1990’s we began having thoughts of expanding. A great opportunity came in 1999, when we were approached by the Sempervirens Fund, the oldest land trust in California, regarding a new property they had just acquired near Big Basin State Park. After considerable deliberation, we agreed on a lease, and by September of 2000 the Sempervirens Outdoor School (SVOS) was born! The first job was to fill the site, and although we had a handful of schools that were interested, we still had plenty of room. Then a very interesting chain of events happened Text Box: Salinas Students Sample for Sand Crabs Text Box: “What in the world are those kids doing?” We have heard that more than once this fall. Turns out they are monitoring the beach at Natural Bridges for sand crabs—a major food source for shore birds and good indicator species about the health of the beach. Last summer ENH received a $34,000 grant from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) which is providing financial assistance to over 500 students from Title 1 schools in Salinas to allow them to attend ENH. As part of this grant, the Salinas students are conducting a scientific sampling for sand crabs at Natural Bridges State Beach during our beach day. Each day, transects are set, groups are formed, and the sampling begins! We typically collect 30 to 60 samples a day, measure the crabs, determine the sex, look for eggs, and Text Box:

Salinas students sift sand through a sieve in search of sand crabs

count the juveniles. The students then report their findings on the NOAA website and at the Natural Bridges Museum.  The only problem is, we have only found a handful of sand crabs!

As Lisa Emanuelson of NOAA (our field

Salinas student at Big Basin State Park

In This Issue:

 

From the Executive    Director

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Thank You to our Donors

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From our Program Directors, Scott, Beth, and Dan

Meet Our Board!

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Banana Slug String Band!

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Photo Gallery

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