School Programs

Outreach To Schools

A major component of SCCF’s multi-faceted Education Department is working with local Lee County students. The goal is to inspire them through experiences designed to increase their awareness and understanding of the natural world and participation in its preservation. During the 2006 – 2007 school year, we reached 4,500 students in Lee County schools. Outreach to schools included environmental education activities at the Pick Preserve with The Sanibel School students, ecology programs with visiting school groups to the Nature Center, and butterfly life-cycle education.

For a fourth year, thousands of schoolchildren and adults learned about the life cycle of our state butterfly, Zebra longwing. Presentations were made to fourth grade classes in different schools around Lee County. One living butterfly life cycle kit was delivered to each school. Each kit included: one screened box (built by our volunteer “Hammerheads”) that held the Zebra eggs, caterpillars, and pupae for the students to observe and then release. A container of the larval host plant, Corky Stemmed Passion Vine, was included for the caterpillars to eat and was later planted in the school’s butterfly garden. Copies of “Florida Butterflies and Their Caterpillars” and a laminated picture handout describing the life cycle of the Zebra longwing were also included.

Curricula available
The Education Department has developed curricula for the many of the program offerings at SCCF; if you would like them, please call us at 472-2329. Curricula are available for: Beach Nesters and Resters, Bike Tour, Butterflies, Dolphin & Wildlife Adventure Cruises, Guided Trail Walks, Landscaping For Wildlife, Realtor Orientation, Resident Environmental Overview, Seagrass Wading Trips, Sea Turtles, Shoreline Discovery Walk, Singing Frogs, Upland Ecology Program, Wetlands Program.

Schedule a class trip to the Nature Center
If you would like to schedule a visit for your class to SCCF’s Nature Center, please contact Richard Finkel at 239/472-2329, rfinkel@sccf.org