Point Lobos State Reserve is committed to helping the surrounding Carmel and Monterey communities. Through a range of activities, the state park reaches out and benefits countless people. One of the many ways that the park helps the community is through its outreach to schools and young students. Point Lobos offers a number of opportunities each year for students to learn about the park’s diversity and natural inhabitants.

The park’s docents devote a great deal of time to reaching out to students as well as leading groups on tours of the park. Docents go to schools in neighboring areas such as Salinas, Soledad, and North Monterey County. At each school, docents give a presentation about the features of the park as well as its natural marine life. Schools who visit the park participate in a guided tour, which docents also lead. On the tour, students experience the crashing of the waves of the ocean, the calling of gulls in the sky, and the barking of sea lions on the rocks and the beach. Some students, despite having lived so close to the park, never see the beach until taking part in one of these tours. Thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of the park’s docents, students gain firsthand experience of the natural features of Point Lobos State Park.

Not only do students benefit from the tours of Point Lobos, but teachers do also. The information that students learn on the tours reinforces what teachers teach in the classroom. The tours help this information come to life, sometimes literally. Teachers can use these experiences at Point Lobos even when the class returns to the classroom. In years past, tours at the park have appealed especially to fourth grade classes because the material in the tours aligns with California Science Standards for that grade level.  The students clearly enjoy the tours, as evidenced by their looks of wonder and exclamations of excitement and interest.

Logo for the annual Point Lobos Summer Adventures camp. Source: Pointlobos.org

In addition to guided tours during the year, Point Lobos offers a number of camps for students during the summer. The Point Lobos Summer Adventures Program teaches middle school and high school students important lessons about the environment and the natural habitat of Point Lobos. Not only do participants learn about the natural features of Point Lobos, but they also learn important lessons about being outdoors, such as how to orient a compass and read a map. Students also get a chance to help the environment by planting trees and engaging in sustainable activities. Remarkably, the summer program receives funds entirely from individual donations and grants. This program is just one of the many ways in which Point Lobos State Reserve benefits people of all ages.

Learn more about education and summer programs online.