Environmental Education Programs

Park Rangers Teaching Students About Lichens

Focus On Air Quality

Students visit an ozone bio-monitoring garden, located at Purchase Knob, that has been planted with species sensitive to ground-level ozone. Students develop and use estimation techniques to determine the amount of damage on leaves of the plants. In another activity, students participate in a lichen monitoring study, collecting data on the type and amount of sulfur sensitive lichen they observe on specific trees.

Once back in the classroom, students analyze their data that has been entered into two websites. Follow these links for more information on the ozone bio-monitoring study and the lichen monitoring project. School programs are geared towards Grade 7, High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry

Focus on Scientific Method and Aquatic Biology


Students work their way through the scientific method as they collect data on two long-term monitoring projects. One group of students will go to a creek to collect water quality data and recapture information for a salamander mark and recapture study. The other group of students will visit a permanent monitoring plot to sample for spiders using a variety of exciting techniques. Data is taken back to the classroom where students analyze it to create a scientific paper. Follow this link to view data collected on the salamander mark/recapture study. Maximum group size is 40.

Additional programs are available on topics such as tardigrades, tree phenology and climate change. For more information, see the Park's ranger-led field trip webpages for middle school and high school.

Focus on Soil Health

Last updated: December 7, 2022