Junior Girl Scout Troop #1662 - Tammy Jacobson (Leader)

We had great fun mixing academics with hiking, singing, nature and old-fashioned Girl Scout fun on our trip to Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County. Our troop of 4th grade Junior Girl Scouts planned a weekend trip to Camp Bothin in Fairfax last October. As a day trip we drove the 15 miles to Point Reyes where there are many diverse activities, habitats and adventures available. Stunning geography, wildlife, earthquake lore and Native Californian history - the park has much to offer 3rd-5th graders studying geology & earthquakes, California History, Native Californians and geography!

Our first stop was the Visitor's Center. Inside you will find a wonderful natural museum with displays of the local wildlife from the land & sea, earthquake history, and the latest park activities calendar. When they saw a Girl Scout troop had arrived, the very helpful Nat'l. Park Service Rangers started a fabulous slide show for us of the history, geography, wildlife & the Native American & Mexican cultural histories of the Point Reyes peninsula.

From the visitor's center it is a short walk to a Miwok Indian Village exhibit which fit in perfectly with what our 4th graders were studying in school. The girls gave the chaperones a tour of the Miwok village explaining the native way of life. They were able to sit inside a native dwelling while eating their sack lunches, see a deerskin drying, a sweat lodge and more! Along the trail we saw deer, hawks, sea birds, and rabbits!

We then traveled to one of the many beaches in the park, driving through dense forest, an area of old burn, which led to a discussion of preservation, ecology, and natural selection, and rugged steep coastal hills. We arrived at the rolling dunes and marshland at the coast and walked on a boardwalk across the marsh leading to the beach. During the drive the girls counted 7 types of geography, another area of 4th grade studies.

Upon returning to Camp Bothin, the girls wrote Cinquains inspired by what they had seen and felt that day. Other academic opportunities include two different earthquake hikes, one of which illustrates the force of the 1906 SF earthquake with shifted fence lines and cracked earth. Also available are ranger led nature walks, endless miles of hiking trails & beaches, a working lighthouse, and more. We were thrilled to explore this rich resource with 4th graders eager to share their newfound knowledge of California in a beautiful living classroom.