The Environmental Curriculum

We have shaped our curriculum to meet the demands of the schools that attend our program. Schools choose up to five of the following topics (depending upon the length of their stay) for our Instructors to focus on during their hikes. We are not limited to the classes listed below. We urge schools to contact us if their students will benefit from a subject not on our list. We pride ourselves on our flexibility, and we will work to accommodate any requests. Your students will be provided with a safe, fun and hands-on learning environment and actually get to actually see and experience first-hand on our trails the things about which they are learning.

Aquatic Study

Water is the compound that makes all life possible. For Aquatic Study, our instructors focus on the importance that water plays in the lives of all organisms on our planet. Students will investigate our very own Smith Creek, searching for macroinvertabrates, to determine just how clean our creek is. Topics also may include:

The many forms that water takes as it moves through the water cycle
The availability and sources of fresh water on our planet
The role water has in our daily lives
The source of water in Southern Californian communities and the importance of conservation

Birding

We are fortunate to have a diverse population of birds at Camp Highland. Our feathered friends include water fowl, hummingbirds, raptors, even ostriches and peacocks. Each bird has many lessons to teach, and some things our instructors focus on include:

The physical characteristics that distinguish birds from other members of the animal kingdom
Physical and behavioral adaptations
Drawing conclusions about a bird's habitat and niche based on physical characteristics
Basic survival needs and the impact that humans have on their availability

Environmental Action

In our Environmental Action class we demonstrate the importance of "practicing what we preach." Our instructors lead students in conservation projects and discuss the importance of making responsible decisions. The effectiveness of this class is its relevance to the schools and to the students. When combined with our other environmental courses, Environmental Action provides the most effective teaching tool we offer: learning through doing. Some projects include:

Installing water bars, pedestrian walkways, or stairs to help control erosion and reduce human impact on our hills
Participating in a watershed cleanup to eliminate pollution from Smith Creek
Working at our compost bin and in our garden to discover an alternative to throwing away our organic waste
Coordinating recycling projects with schools and creating a user-friendly system for collecting recyclables
Reusing materials to create posters and other art projects
Making new paper from previously used paper and newsprint

Geology

Situated in a mountain building region that used to be the floor of an inland sea, Camp Highland has a very diverse geologic representation. Our geology study focuses on determining how certain rocks and minerals were formed and drawing conclusions about the geologic history of the area. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

Differentiation of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks
Physical, chemical, and mechanical weathering
Erosion
Classifying rocks and minerals by physical and chemical properties

Native Skills

A lot of answers to current questions can be found by looking to the past. To many Native American tribes, sustainability was a way of life. Our Native Skills class focuses on the tribe that once inhabited this area, the Cahuilla, and the skills they used to survive. Topics may include:

Fire making
Using native plants to make rope
Shelter building
Identifying and eating edible plants

Invertebrates

Oftentimes, our spineless friends get a bad reputation. They are viewed as disease-spreading, crop-eating, arm-biting, annoying pests. A closer look into their world tells quite a different story. Our invertebrates class focuses on the essential roles that these creatures play in our lives. We focus on:

Exploring invertebrate habitats and observing live creatures
The importance of invertebrates in food webs
The interdependence between these creatures and other members of the global community, including humans

Orienteering & Outdoor Leadership

An important part of going out and discovering the mysteries of the wild is being sure that you can find your way back. In this course, students are taught how to properly prepare for hikes and learn useful navigation skills. Our topics may include:

Learning to use a compass
Reading and identifying key features on contour maps
Creating trail maps
Responding to emergency situations

Plants

From the lush ferns of Smith Creek to the rough scrub oak of the chaparral, our plant population has a lot to teach. During our plant study, students get the opportunity to learn through observation. We focus less on the names of various plants and more on their functions, adaptations, and importance. Our topics include:

Photosynthesis... what goes in and what comes out
The air cycle
The interdependence of plants and animals
Functions of different plant parts
Adaptations that plants use to survive
The importance plants play in our lives

Tracking

For thousands of years, human survival depended upon the ability to be an intelligent and efficient hunter. The advancement of weaponry and farming has reduced the necessity for efficient hunting, but the skills used in the past are still useful today. Our course looks at current and past uses of tracking, and includes the following:

Investigating signs that animals leave behind
Identifying types of consumers by inspecting the characteristics of scat, tracks, and other evidence
Using "Process of Elimination" techniques to aid animal identification
Drawing conclusions about animal behavior based on evidence

Watershed

Our watershed class encompasses many different concepts that are all focused on our own watershed, Smith Creek. Our instructors focus on the impact the creek has on the watershed and the impact the watershed may have on the creek. Other topics include:

Using contour maps to determine the boundaries of a watershed
The effect that precipitation has on erosion
The impact of humans on aquatic areas
Finding a balance between utilizing a watershed and preserving it
The water cycle, its importance to life and protecting our water

Wildlife Ecology

Our wildlife ecology class focuses primarily on vertebrates and their role in the web of life. Lessons are geared towards animal habitats and niches and include the following topics:

Energy transfer through food webs
The basic resources that animals need to survive
Animal adaptations
Factors that affect animal populations
Competition and symbiosis

Weather

Located between two large mountains and adjacent to the desert, Camp Highland is subject to very unique weather patterns. During their stay, students get an opportunity to explore our weather by:

Using appropriate instruments (thermometer, barometer, etc.) to obtain meteorological data
Observing the effects the water cycle and landforms have on our weather
Investigating the pressure that occurs at different elevations
Observing and discussing the effects that humans have on the weather and determining responsible choices that reduce our impact