Fourth Graders Participate in Every Kid in a Park Activities at Lake Berryessa

Written by: Jennifer Onufer

Park Ranger leads education program for fourth graders at lake Berryessa.On Tuesday and Thursday, May 17 & 19, 2016, Park Rangers from the Bureau of Reclamation’s Lake Berryessa Field Office in Napa County greeted 120 fourth-grade students from the Shirley Rominger Intermediate School in Winters, California.

Each class enjoyed a picnic lunch at Coyote Knolls within Reclamation’s Oak Shores Day Use Area, hiked for an hour on the Smittle Creek Trail, and traversed the “Journey of a Water Drop” obstacle course. Highlights included a plethora of wildlife sightings including garter snakes and blue-bellied lizards!

The field trips were made possible through President Obama’s Every Kid in a Park initiative, the National Park Foundation’s transportation grants, and the support of the Putah Creek Council. Every Kid in a Park provides free access for every fourth grader and their family to 2,000 federally managed lands and waters. After 12 years, every school-age child will have been able to visit these public sites for free, inspiring the next generation to be stewards of our nation’s shared natural and cultural heritage.

This was the first opportunity the students had to visit Lake Berryessa for an education program in more than a year. Hopefully these programs will encourage teachers to continue to bring their students to Lake Berryessa to experience all the wonderful activities the great outdoors offers.

Reclamation is grateful to the National Park Foundation and the Putah Creek Council for generously supporting these trips.

Published on June 02, 2016