Programs for Students and Educators

Removing Invasive Nonnative Plants from Prime Habitat + Cottonwood Art for Field Guide + Field Trip with Menaul School Students

Engaging Youth:

Families, classrooms, youth groups, and children of all ages are invited to join our service learning projects taking place in the Albuquerque Bosque. By participating, students can contribute to the revitalization of wildlife habitat and native plant communities while learning about the Bosque ecosystem and plants.

There is no cost to participate and we offer three ways for youth to get involved:

  • Individuals and groups can volunteer at our next Bosque Restoration Field Day.
  • Classrooms and youth groups can contribute to our Field Guide Project.
  • Classrooms and youth groups participating in the Field Guide Project can apply for a field trip grant to join our educators in the Bosque for a unique learning experience. Teachers and group leaders may request transportation assistance when applying to help your group get there and back! (A limited number of field trip grants are available each semester and we can select only one application requesting the additional transportation grant. If you have your own funding source, you can request to schedule a custom field trip below.)


Custom Field Trips

 

Have Your Own Funding and Want to Skip the Application Process?

Purchase a customized field trip for your school or youth group. Our professional educators offer a variety of topics related to native plants, herbalism, wild foods, art and ecology, or local landscapes. Your fees go directly back into supporting our many free events and projects. Pricing is based on group size and activities requested.

Join Our Field Crew:

Volunteer at our next Bosque Restoration Field Day! Check our Events page for our next scheduled Restoration Field Day.

 

What is a Field Day like?

Our spring and fall fieldwork seasons are May and September and each work day lasts about 3 hours. Participants will engage in active riparian habitat and native plant restoration work including removal of non-native invasive Ravenna Grass, planting natives species, and reseeding with a mixture of native plants donated by the City of Albuquerque Open Space and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

 

Who can participate?

We welcome classrooms, school clubs, scout troops, youth groups, and families. All ages are encouraged. Children must be supervised by parents and/or teachers.

Bosque Field Guide Project:

Through the Field Guide Project, students will learn about Bosque plants and contribute their work to our Plants of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque Field Guide that is available to their community for free online. This interdisciplinary program encourages students to become researchers, writers, photographers, botanists, ecologists, and ethnobotanists, all while contributing to a collaborative community service project. Groups contributing 10 or more plant entries may apply for a field trip in the Bosque with our educators. Thanks to the Native Plant Society Albuquerque Chapter for sponsoring this guide.

Who can participate?

This program is designed for classrooms, youth groups, school clubs, homeschool groups, and scout troops for students K-12. All students joining the Field Guide Project should be able to do these tasks independently and with the support of their educators and/or parents.

How does it work?

Elementary school students will engage in activities that bring awareness and careful observation of plants, including a botanical drawing completed in the field and a hands-on art and ecology project.  Middle and high school students will sign up for a specific Bosque plant on our list, investigate their plant, and submit their writing and optional additional photographs, botanical drawings, or maps as part of the collective project. Select drawings and research entries will be published in our online field guide where they will be available for use by Bosque visitors and plant enthusiasts in our community. More details on these activities are available in the application in the Field Trips section below. Also see our suggested resources for further learning with your students on these topics.

Alameda Elementary Student Botanical Artwork for Plants of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque Field Guide

Field Trip Grants:

Join our educators for a Bosque outing connecting students with the landscape and plants that are central to New Mexico’s culture and history. Students will learn about the native and medicinal plants growing in our area, plant identification, local ecology, and natural and cultural history of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque. Field trips take place April-May and September-October. We are able to offer a limited number of field trip grants and transportation assistance each semester.

 

Who can participate?

Classrooms and youth groups contributing 10 or more plant drawings (K-5) or field guide entries (grades 6-12) may apply for a field trip grant to join our educators in the Bosque for a free education program following their research. Additionally, teachers needing transportation may apply for assistance to provide a bus for their Bosque outing. The field trip grant application deadline is the Monday following Thanksgiving for the spring semester trips and the first Monday in June for the fall semester field trips. Thanks to the Public Lands Interpretive Association and the New Mexico Economic Development Department Outdoor Recreation Division for sponsoring these grants.

Want to support these free educational community service opportunities?

  • Make an one-time or monthly donation by clicking the donate button.
  • Bring a school classroom into the Bosque for a field trip including research project support, bus transportation, and guided field programs for $500 per school group. Business sponsors will have their logo added to our website and be recognized in our newsletter. Individual donors will be listed on our website and newsletter, if they choose. Contact us to inquire.
  • See our Ways To Give page for more opportunities to help.

Bring your group into the beautiful Bosque!

 

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