Verdi Nature Trail
Verdi Nature Trail: located behind Verdi elementary school, Verdi, Nevada.
Grade Level: K-12
This field trip site was developed by Debbie O’Gorman, sixth grade teacher, Elmcrest
Elementary School, and Adrienne Forbes, Regional Wildlife Educator, Nevada Division of Wildlife.
Description: Verdi Nature Trail is an approximate _ mile hike through varying habitats. Here where the Great Basin meets the Sierra Nevada you can easily see the riparian habitat, upland habitat, and the desert &emdash;montane habitats contrasting against the mountain shadow. This is a unique and exhilarating experience for students and adults alike. There is a proposed Aquatic Education Resource Center/Public and School Library slated to open during the 2001-2002 school year. This resource will be a cooperative project of Nevada Division of Wildlife, Washoe County School District, and Washoe County Library System. Verdi Nature Trail is the gateway to the Great Basin.
Goals:
- To integrate standards with outdoor field experience
- To expose students to Great Basin environment
- To identify different habitats found in Nevada
- To identify plants and animals in their natural environment
- To experience nature
Standards:
Life Science
Investigate and describe what plants need to survive
Investigate and describe what animals need to survive
plants and animals.
conditions to survive.
help them live in various environments.
are more favorable than others to living things
them live in different kinds of places
conditions
some plants and animals to survive and reproduce, but others
may die
and animals as consumers and how living things may depend
on each other.
for food and may also use plants of even other animals
different places have similarities and differences
an ecosystem
Content Standards 18 &emdash; 24 are the Basic and Integrated Process Skills. Many of the activities that can be done in an outdoor field experience can be inclusive of these standards at grade levels K-12.
English/Language Arts Standards in the Content Standards of Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and Research can be integrated throughout the activities used as introduction and conclusion to the field experience at the site.
Social Studies Standards in Mapping as well as Mathematical Standards in measurement can also be included in the pre-activities as well as integrated throughout the field experience depending on your theme and focus for your lesson.
Logistics:
Students need to remain on the trail at all times at the Verdi Nature Trail site.
The trail is open throughout the year. Inclement weather gear is suggested, as Nevada weather is changeable. Dress in layers and include sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, and water. Please be considerate of the wildlife and other human life using the trail. Please clean up any litter.
Facilities:
Maximum students on field trip 60
Restrooms and water is available at the school year round.
Picnic grounds are available at the back of the school for lunch or snacks.
Docents are available. Call Adrienne Forbes, Nevada Division of Wildlife, Regional
Wildlife Education Coordinator, 334-3808, to make arrangements for a field trip.
Field Pack Gear:
Verdi Nature Trail Field Pack Inventory
Packs can be checked out on site. Inventory will take place at the end of the field trip. Microscopes can also be checked out on site for investigations.
Books:
An Audubon Handbook WESTERN BIRDS
National Audubon Society FIRST FIELD GUIDE INSECTS
Desert Wildflowers of North America
A Field Guide to MAMMAL TRACKING in North America
Field Cards:
Sierra Nevada Field Card No. 1 BIRDS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA
Sierra Nevada Field Card No. 2 MAMMALS OF THE SIERRA NEVDA
Sierra Nevada Field Card No. 3 FLOWERS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA
Sierra Nevada Field Card No. 4 TREES OF THE SIERRA NEVADA
Identification Books and Activity Cards:
6 Aquatic Insect Identification Booklets
1 Aquatic Insect Key (Laminated)
1 What Tree Is That? Tree Identification Booklet
3 Insect Scavenger Hunt Activity cards
Small Equipment:
6 clear plastic petri dishes
6 hand lenses
3 white Styrofoam specimen trays
2 eyedroppers
2 glass collection vials
2 plastic magnification boxes
2 plastic rulers
1 cloth tape measure
1 thermometer
Resources:
The following websites and organizations link to other areas of interest in outdoor education:
Activities:
Project WILD and Aquatic WILD in service and university classes are available to present multiple activities in wildlife habitat, ecological principles, and social perspectives on wildlife.
Plant and animal identification, track identification, mapping activities, literacy correlation to nature, art/drawing activities, groundwater studies, soil and rock studies in the field, and Great Basin studies can all be done at this site.
The beauty of outdoor education is that integrated studies in language arts, math, social studies and science can all revolve around activities developed by each individual teacher for appropriate grade level mastery.
Students studying the flume on site
Plant Identification Studies