For the first time ever, the Humphrey Nature Center at Letchworth State Park will offer live, guided, educational field trips for students of all ages.
Schools can now call in to the Nature Center using the virtual meeting platform of their choice for an educator to accompany their class as they watch the park’s virtual field trip videos, free of charge.
“Since June, teachers have been sending their classes YouTube links to our virtual field trips and keeping in touch with us,” said Elijah Kruger, Environmental Educator at Letchworth State Park. “Now, our staff are trained to guide classes through those virtual field trip videos live on camera just as we would for an in-person hike outside.”
Before March 2020, Letchworth State Park’s classic, in-person guided hikes and school field trips were well-attended. With educators working from home as part of COVID-19 public safety directives, in-person programs were impossible.
In response, the Humphrey Nature Center immediately started Nature Detectives, a weekly observation-based educational video series on Facebook. Since March, the park has released weekly videos where seasonal Student Conservation Association member Conrad Baker invites viewers to notice specific details of a mysterious plant, animal, or fungus that leads to identifying it and learning how it affects humans.
As part of the Nature Center’s long-term response plan, staff produced three approximately 25-minute videos with most of the fundamental material usually delivered during outdoor programs, without the benefit of hands-on experiences. All three videos are accessible on the NYS Parks YouTube Channel.
Now, with schools starting a new school year with extraordinary precaution, field trips are not likely to resume any time soon. Letchworth State Park is producing more virtual field trips and making their educators available to connect virtual field trip material to teachers’ lesson plans, enrich what students have already covered as a class, and answer student questions.
“The pandemic was an unexpected opportunity for the park to get out of our comfort zone and focus on online content,” said Kruger. “Virtual programming is now very much our comfort zone. We’re delighted to see teachers and homeschoolers getting good use out of our educational videos and want to keep nurturing this new style of education.”
Teachers can call Elijah Kruger at the Humphrey Nature Center at Letchworth State Park at 493-3683 to schedule a virtual guided program.
Provided information
