Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center Pre-Trip Activities, Grades K-2 Table of Contents Title Page Introduction to the Hayward Shoreline 3 Everybody Needs a Home 4 Whose Clues? 5 Habitracks 7 Vocabulary 9 Plants of the Hayward Shoreline 12 Animals of the Hayward Shoreline 13 Common Spring and Summer Shoreline Birds 14 Common Fall and Winter Shoreline Birds 15 Bibliography of Bay-Related Sources 16 Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center 4901 Breakwater Ave., Hayward, CA, 94545 510-670-7270 www.haywardrec.org/hayshore [email protected] 1 Pre-Trip Activities, Grades K-2 Introduction to the Hayward Shoreline History: The Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center opened in 1986 as a place where school groups and the general public could learn about the ecology, history, and significance of the wetlands surrounding the San Francisco Bay. We call this a “salt marsh”, but in fact these wetlands consist of a complex set of salt, fresh, brackish and tidal ponds. From 1856 through the 1940s this area was used for salt production. In 1980, managers began removing dikes, restoring tidal action to an area that was originally a mixture of tidal wetlands and associated uplands. Natural History: A marsh is where water and land come together. The 1800 acres of marsh at the Hayward Shoreline constitute the largest section of the wetland habitats in the San Francisco Bay. Wetlands offer a wide diversity of life as both a nursery for sea life and a rich food source for the plants and animals that live there. There are many plants and animals that call the Hayward Shoreline their home. One of the most abundant plats is Pickleweed, which is found only in salt marshes. Pickleweed is an important habitat for the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, a unique rodent that has become endangered due to destruction of wetlands around the Bay. San Francisco Bay is home to thousands of resident and migratory birds. The Shoreline is part of the Pacific Flyway, a primary migratory bird route. During the spring migration, a number of birds fly north and breed in the Artic, while others return here from South America and build their nests to raise their young. During the fall migration, many birds that have spent the breeding season farther north fly through on their way to their southern non-breeding grounds. Some birds choose to stay all year in the Bay. What Good is the Marsh? The Hayward Shoreline is a vital part of the San Francisco Bay ecosystem for many reasons. -It is a rich habitat for many animals: birds, mammals, invertebrates and more. A habitat includes shelter, food, water, air, and space. Every living plant and animal needs a unique arrangement of these basic necessities to create a specific habitat. Without these there would be no life. -Marshes are nurseries for marine life. Fish such as flounder begin their lives in the protected channels of the Bay marshes, and move into the Bay as adults. -Marsh plants help control water quality. Many marsh plants take up water pollutants and convert them into non-pollutants, or store them in their tissues. -Marshes are a natural flood buffer. The marsh slows and absorbs water, protecting human developments. -Marshes prevents erosion. Because water moves more slowly through a marsh, any sediment that was carried along previously is dropped into the marsh and not carried into the Bay. - Marshes store carbon dioxide. There is incredible plant biomass in salt marshes due to the daily movements of tides, which bring in nutrients and flush waste products. These plants store large amounts of carbon, which helps protect our atmosphere from a greater accumulation of carbon dioxide. Healthy marshes promote a healthy Bay, which in turn helps to keep the ocean healthy. Were we to lose our remaining marshes, the Bay ecosystem would be severely damaged. We must all work to preserve areas such as this. How do People Use the Marsh? The Hayward Shoreline is part of the San Francisco Bay Trail system. Currently you can walk, jog, or bike north from the Center seven miles to San 2 Leandro Marina. The trail will eventually be extended south to the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, connecting to the rest of the Bay Trail. 3 EVERYBODY NEEDS A HOME Objectives: Students will be able to generalize that people and other animals share a basic need to have a home. Skills: Analysis, discussion, drawing, generalization, visualization. Duration: 30 minutes or longer. BackgroundMaterials: Drawing paper, crayons or chalk. Background: Humans and other animals- including pets, farm animals, and wildlife- have some of the basics needs. Every animal needs a home. But that home is not just a “house” like people live in. Home, for many animals, is a much bigger place- and its outdoors. The scientific term for an animal’s home is “habitat”. An animal’s habitat includes food, water, shelter, or cover and space. Because animals need the food, water, shelter, and space to be available in a way that is suitable to the animals’ needs, we say these things must be available in a suitable arrangement. The major purpose of this activity is for students to generalize that animals need a home. A house may be considered shelter. People build apartments, houses, trailers, houseboats, and other kinds of shelter in which to live. Animals don’t need a home that looks like a house- but they do need some kind of shelter. The shelter might be underground, in a bush, in the bark of a tree, or in some rocks. Everybody needs a home! And “home is bigger than a “house”. Home is more like a “neighborhood” that has everything in it that is needed for survival. Procedure: 1. Ask each student to draw a picture of where he or she lives- or to draw a picture of the place where a person they know lives. Ask the students to include pictures of the things they need to live and what they do in their drawing; for example, a place to cook and eat food, a place to sleep, a neighborhood etc. 2. Once the drawings are finished, have a discussion with the students about what they drew. Ask the students to point out the things that they included in their drawings. 3. Make a “gallery of homes” out of the drawings. Point out to the students that everyone has a home. 4. Ask the children to close their eyes and imagine: a bird’s home, an ant’s home, a beaver’s home, the President’s home, their home. Optional: Show the students pictures of different places that animals live. 5. Discuss the differences and similarities among the different homes with the students. Talk about the things every animal needs in its home: food, water, shelter, and space in which to live, arranged in a way that the animal can survive. Summarize the discussion by emphasizing that although the homes are different, every animal- people, pets, farm animals, and wildlife- needs a home. Talk about the idea that a home is actually bigger than a house. In some ways, it is more like a neighborhood. For animals, we call that neighborhood a habitat. People go outside their homes to get food at the store, for example. Birds, ants, beavers and other animals have to go out of their “houses” (places of shelter) to get the food and water they need to live. Extensions: 1. Draw animal homes. Compare them to places humans live. 2. Go outside and look for animal homes. Be sure not to bother the animals- or the homes-in the process! Activity taken from: Project Wild © 1992,1985, 19883 by the Western Regional Environmental Education Council, Inc. 4 WHOSE CLUES? Putting together evidence (clues) to solve a mystery is fun, and it is also part of a scientific approach to problem solving. From reading clues, students make inferences about who left them and the circumstances under which they were left. Objectives: Student will: 1) observe and identify clues to wildlife activities; 2) make inference about the types of wildlife present in an area and their activities; 3) describe some interrelationships between animals and between animals and between animals and their environment Methods: Look for and try to identify animal tracks and other signs of wildlife. Skills: Interpreting information, drawing, observation, small group work, discussion. Duration: One hour Materials: Brightly colored ribbon or flagging tape (two 1-foot pieces per student); ice cream sticks (2 or more per student); copies of questions and pictures of signs provided (1 per team); clipboards, pencils; (optional) poster-sized piece of absorbent paper, rags or old towels to wipe hands. Background: The prospect of a class trip to a wetland or other natural setting may inspire students to envision scenes from National Geographic specials or Disney films. A muskrat diving under water just beyond the grasp of a swooping red-tailed hawk, a beaver gnawing down a birch sapling, an otter in hot pursuit of a bluegill, or fledgling wood ducks plopping comically into the water from their nest cavity in an old tree. All are very real scenes, happening daily in natural areas but seldom witnessed, and especially not by crowds of enthusiastic youngsters. However, all animals leave behind signs of their activities” what they’ve been, where they’ve been walking, running, resting, and rearing their young. When a class full of eyes starts searching an area for these signs, fascinating- and wonderfully gross- discoveries are sure to follow. Tracks, among the most obvious clues of an animal’s presence, are most easily found in mud or sand near puddles, ponds or waterways, where the ground is soft.