As part of our education and outreach activities, members support the education efforts of numerous partners on the Eastern Shore, including the Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust (VESLT). Recently, members assisted VESLT with field trips for second graders, organized by Samantha Willis, Community Outreach Coordinator of VESLT. Students visit different activity stations or take a nature walk where they learn about the flora and fauna of our Shore, sharpen their observation skills and begin to identify different plants and animals.
One recent trip for Accawmacke students was held at the private property preserve of Meriwether Payne. The large group of 70 students were separated into smaller groups, and were led by Master Naturalists from station to station, helping the children interpret what they were seeing. In a second trip, several master naturalists, along with other volunteers, helped guide the Kiptopeke second grade classes on a field trip at the Brownsville Nature Preserve. The students enjoyed walking the boardwalk through the marshland (where a large black snake was seen curled up several feet away), observing the birds and animals from the elevated look out station, completing a scavenger hunt and drawing pictures of what they saw throughout the trip.
Students got to hear many different birds and were on the lookout for frogs and turtles as they walked. Even Mother Nature helped out by holding off the rain until the school busses were pulling away to head back to the school!
The Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust seeks to conserve rural lands, to preserve the farms, forests, wetlands, waters, and heritage of Virginia’s Eastern Shore for the benefit of current and future generations. For more information go to https://veslt.org/mission.