Everglades National Park EDUCATION PROGRAM ROYAL PALM AND LONG PINE KEY GUIDE

Since 1971 the National Park Service and local schools have cooperated in the use of Everglades National Park as an outdoor classroom. Park staff, teachers, and school administrators share responsibility for the Everglades Education Program. These partners have agreed upon the following goals:

• To acquaint the students of South Florida with the hammock, slough, sawgrass marsh, and pineland habitats of Everglades National Park;
• To develop an appreciation in students for their total environment, natural and human-made;
• To develop in students an understanding of Everglades National Park's value to the web of life in South Florida;
• To motivate students to participate actively in solving South Florida's environmental problems.

Although these goals cannot all be achieved during a single trip, classroom lessons can make even one park visit a significant step toward educating students as caretakers of South Florida's natural resources.

This guide will help you prepare for a field trip to the Royal Palm and Long Pine Key areas of the park. It serves as a reference for material covered during the pre-site, teacher workshop. It also offers an overview of each of the habitats students will visit on their field trip. Finally, it includes suggested classroom activities and a resources list.

In conjunction with the teacher workshop, classroom activities and the field trip, this Royal Palm/Long Pine Key Guide meets the following Dade County curriculum based competencies (CBC's) for 5th and 6th grade.

Grade 5

• Component II. Life Science, Competency A.
• Component V. Interaction of Society and the Environment, Competency A.

Grade 6

• Component II. Life Science, Objective 1, Competency A.

Thank you for your willingness to become a trip leader! We hope visiting your national parks will be a lifetime adventure.