Education Resources
About PORTS
PORTS (Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students)® Program is a FREE distance learning program with California State Parks. PORTS uses the power of videoconferencing to support K-12 educators in designing deep and meaningful learning experiences for their students.
MENDOPARKS MISSION STATEMENT:
“TO INSPIRE AND ENSURE STEWARDSHIP OF THE STATE PARKS IN MENDOCINO COUNTY.”
An important part of the Mendocino Area Parks Association's mission is to fund educational programs in our local State Parks. Naturalist/ interpreters, and experienced docents provide various programs to a wide spectrum of ages.
MAKE A DONATION IN SUPPORT OF PARK EDUCATION
Explore the Mendocino Coast Padlet Page
Padlet is one of the many tools our PORTS presenters use to engage K-12 students in advance of or following the PORTS Program. Thanks to a collaboration with California Educators Together, California State Parks has curated these resources for teachers and students to make them easy to find, use, and get outside.
Explore the Mendo Coast Padlet Page for fun outdoor activities for Backyard Junior Rangers!
Virtual Field Trips of California State Parks in Mendocino County
MacKerricher State Park Virtual Field Trip
Take a dive into the world of the Harbor Seal at MacKerricher State Park! Students will explore the similarities and differences between humans and these astounding marine mammals. Students will observe and identify what crucial adaptations ensure their survival in the cold Pacific waters of northern California. While we discuss the life of a Harbor Seal, we will take a look at the MacKerricher State Marine Conservation Area and learn how this Marine Protected Area (MPA) ensures the health and safety of these marvelous marine mammals.
Hendy Woods State Park Virtual Field Trip
At Hendy Woods State Park, you can discover the secret of the redwoods and their ability to support a sustainable climate and future for all Californians. You can explore climate change and fire ecology or redwood anatomy and adaptations at Hendy Woods State Park!
MacKerricher State Park In-Person Field Trip
Students will explore the MacKerricher State Park tidepools to find and identify common tidepool creatures, their unique adaptations, and potential threats to this fragile habitat. During this time, students will learn what a Marine Protected Area is and why these protected areas of the ocean are important. Students will walk the Laguna Point boardwalk to a harbor seal rookery for live viewing of MacKerricher’s year-long marine mammal residents. Here, students will use binoculars to observe the seals in their natural habitat. Together, we share what the students observed and why they believe certain physical or behavioral traits may be helpful to the survival of this animal. During this time, we work together to identify the 5 major traits all mammals share, the challenges marine mammals face (natural and human-caused), and what we can do to help the ocean and the amazing animals that call it home.
Hendy Woods In-Person Field Trip
Explore the life of the towering coast redwoods and their allies! We'll work to piece together all the parts of this living puzzle and learn about the roles different organisms play in this unique ecosystem at Hendy Woods State Park. Experience the grandeur of these natural wonders to find out how they survive to tower over all other trees in the world. (Trail is 1 mile long and easily accessible to ADA Standards) Your trip will start with a brief 15-minute instruction on Nature Journaling, followed by 45 minutes of recording student-centered and self-directed observations in the redwood grove. After an intermission for snacks and a bathrooms, you and your students will be guided through Big Hendy Grove for approximately 1 hour. Prior to departure, you and your students will have the chance to wrap up and reflect, use the restroom, and hit the road!