Education

Cape Fear River Watch offers outdoor, experiential, hands-on field trip programs focused on ecology, biology, and environmental sciences September – May. Topics include water quality, plants and wildlife, the hydrosphere, stewardship, and more. Students connect with local ecosystems and wildlife, and explore real-world environmental issues and solutions. 

All field trips take place at Greenfield Lake Park and last approximately 2.5-3 hrs. Field trips are station based, with students rotating through three different stations. For all field trip topics, one station is a guided nature hike, one station is monitoring Greenfield Lake via paddle boat, and one station is an active, hands-on activity or game. Specific curriculum varies based on the field trip option chosen.

Field Trip Options:

1) Water Quality and Stewardship – Topics include parameters of water quality, watersheds and pollution, the water cycle, stormwater, and stewardship
Recommended for 4th, 5th, or 8th; can be adapted for 9th-12th

2) Animal Adaptations – Topics include wildlife characteristics, identification, and behavior, and human impacts on the environment
Recommended for K, 4th, or 7th

3) Plants & Botany – Topics include plant anatomy and identification, plant adaptations (including aquatic plants), native vs invasive, floating wetlands, & ecosystem restoration.
Recommended for 1st, 3rd, or 8th

4) Life Cycles & Migration – Topics include migratory fish in the Cape Fear River, migratory birds and reproductive habits, and good ecosystem health.
Recommended for 2nd

5) Food Webs & Toxicology – Topics include energy flow and trophic levels (producers, consumers, decomposers), abiotic and biotic factors, and pollution (for older/high school grades, this can include man-made chemicals, such as PFAS/GenX).
Recommended for 5th, 6th, or 9th-12th