COSCA Volunteer Corps: Trails Education Days
A significant goal for the Conejo Open Space Foundation is education. To that end, the Foundation supports the Conejo Open Space Trails Advisory Committee (COSTAC) in coordinating an annual environmental education program for Conejo Valley fifth graders. More than 25,000 students have taken part in Trails Education Days since its inception in 1992.
Volunteer Opportunities
Slideshow: Trails Education Days
(Photos by Tom Robbins)
1,610 CVUSD students from 20 CVUSD elementary schools participated in Trails Education Days 2007. More than 100 volunteers and agency staff put in a total of 1,000 hours of their time to make the program a success.
To prepare for their day in the open space, students watched a video at their schools. The video included information segments about trail safety, local Native American nature traditions, the "food chain," mountain lions and bobcats, and how natural open space is acquired for public ownership. Presenters were COSCA Chair Rorie Skei, CRPD Recreation Specialist Matt Kouba, COSCA Rangers Jane Falke and Bruce Pace, and Naturalist Oscar Ortiz. The Host for the video is Mark Olson, a former COSTAC member who helped develop Trails Education Days in the early 1990's.
The following week, the students spent a day in Wildwood Park. The field trips began with a one-hour hike. Hike leaders gave the students information about indigenous plants and animals, the ecology of the area, and the impacts that humans have on natural open space. At the end of their hikes, the groups attended three workshops:
COSCA Park Rangers, California State Parks Rangers, and Mountains Recreation Conservation Area (MRCA) Rangers described their working lives in the open space. The subjects included search and rescue operations, law enforcement, fire control, trail building, first aid, and other aspects of ranger careers.
Animal Actors, a group based in Carlisle Canyon, presented indigenous birds and animals, including a vulture, raven, red tailed hawk, porcupine and baby red fox.
Trail safety and courtesy, was the subject of a program by equestrians, hikers, bicyclists, and dog owners with their well-trained pets. Joe Dillman, a local bicyclist and member of CORBA, has served as the host of this workshop since the first event in 1992. The students particularly appreciated the light and humorous approach "Joe Cool" and his helpers bring to their workshop, demonstrating what not to do in the open space. Joe was assisted by Mark Langton, COSTAC member and mountain bicyclist.
Workshops ran from 10:00 to 11:30 A.M. and 12:00 noon to 1:30 P.M. each day. Lunch from Whole Foods Market was provided for all staff and volunteers from 11:30 to noon.
The fifth graders were invited to enter a letter writing contest to describe some of the things they learned during their Trails Education Days experience. Over 800 students entered the contest. Five Grand Prize winners and two winners from each school were chosen to receive cash awards as well as recognition by the Thousand Oaks City Council and the CRPD Board of Directors. The Grand Prize winners for 2007 are listed below.
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Mayor Fox & COSTAC Chair Brown with
grand prize winners Jed McGuigan, Vivian Hu
& Savanna Sipes
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Grand prize winner
Evelyn Truong
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TRAILS EDUCATION DAYS VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Without the volunteers who give so much to this program, Trails Education Days could not take place. We are especially pleased that so many volunteers come back year after year, ready to give a new crop of Fifth Graders a valuable experience in the Conejo open space. Here are volunteer job descriptions:
HIKE LEADERS -
Hike leaders take groups of 12 to 15 fifth graders on 1-hour, 1-mile hikes from the Wildflower Playing Fields to the Nature Center via the Wildwood Canyon Trail. One teacher or parent volunteer accompanies each group to keep the students focused on their hike leader; the leader talks to the group about indigenous plant and animal life. At intervals along the way, plants are tagged with multiple choice questions. Vast knowledge about local plants and animals is not a requirement. Volunteers range from experienced naturalists, botanists, and wildlife biologists to people who value natural open space and wish to contribute to our program. Volunteers who have not participated in this program previously are asked to attend a training session the week before Trails Education Days. These training sessions are conducted by professional naturalists and include a rehearsal hike to the Nature Center on Wildwood Canyon Trail. With 1,650 students attending over a 5 day period, we need as many as 15 people per day to lead 2 hikes each.
GENERAL COORDINATORS -
Several people are needed each day to help keep the program running smoothly and on schedule. These volunteers unload the school groups from their buses, assign the groups to their hike leaders, usher the groups from one workshop to the next, pass out water bottles as the students leave the canyon, lead groups on the 20 minute hike back to their buses, set up the Nature Center for the volunteers' lunches, and do whatever else comes up. Interested people might choose to volunteer for one morning, a day or two, or for the entire week.
TRAIL SAFETY & COURTESY WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS -
One workshop involves a hiker, bicyclist, equestrian, and dog walker. These trail users act out a scenario for the students that illustrates right and wrong ways to behave in the open space. Volunteers typically participate in 5 or 6 half-hour workshops each day, over a total of 4 hours, and volunteer for one or more days of the program.
All volunteers are treated to snacks and lunch, courtesy of COSCA and Whole Foods Markets. A benefit to volunteers is that they meet many other people who share their interests and commitment to open space. If interested, please fill out a Volunteer Application.
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The Conejo Open Space Foundation
extends a sincere THANK YOU to our 2007 Trails Education Days
sponsors, supporters, staff & volunteers: |
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City of Thousand Oaks Community Events Endowment Fund
Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency
Conejo Recreation and Park District
Conejo Valley Unified School District
Animal Actors of Hollywood
California Department of Parks and Recreation
Conejo Group Sierra Club
Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority
Whole Foods Market
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Arne Anselm Melanie Ashen Lynne Bean Shirley Bell
Summer Bennett Mike Berger Betsie Blaznek
Ginny Bowers
Ann Bulloch Mark Callaghan Maryanne Campbell
Jeannie Chari
Ellen Covella Dexter Crowder Jan Delaney Mike Delaney
Joe Dillman Chuck Dollison Jack Dwyer Betty Eiseman
Burt Elliott Jane Falke Warren Fee Steve Forman Mary Freed
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Bill Gourley Hailey Graf Carolyn Greene
Joseph Grier Virginia Grue Elayne Haggan Gordon Hart
Lee Hawkins Tim Hayden Debi Helms Pat Hendrickson
Sheila Hernandez Tony Hoffman John Holroyd
Nurit Holzman
Greg Jones Sara Jones Kylie Joseph Shirley Kafka
Glen Kinney Nancy Klein Helen Kota Mark Langton
Mary Jane MacLeod Henry Maina
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Dale Manquen Alissa Marangola Tom Maxwell
John Noble Fred Nuesca Michelle Odle Lois Olsen
Julia Osborn Bruce Pace Tom Pani Cathy Philipp
Rob Remedi Ed Rockey Molly Rockey Otto Sanders
Pete Scifres Meaghan Shaffer Cheryl Shawyer Lylene Sheets
Norm Simmonds Doak Smith Kevin Smith Paul Smith Penny Smith
Tammy Somerhausen
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Niki Stokols Sol Stolman
Michael Tardiff Mary Jo Tennant
Jodi Thomas Frank Thomsen
Joyce Thomsen Nicole Tindell Mark Towne Terry Trefz
Lillian Trevisan Annette Trisler Sarge Trotsky Ann Tucker
Liz Wagner Tricia Webster Sam Weiner Barbara Welch
Veronica Wise Jan Woodfil Walt Zabriskie Cyndee Zahorik
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