Audubon Ballona Wetlands Docent Training Begins Tuesday

The Audubon Ballona Wetlands docent training program begins this Tues. Sept. 11 and is designed to teach young people about the last remaining major coastal salt marsh in Los Angeles County. Friends of Culver City’s Ballona Creek Renaissance are encouraged to take part.

The Audubon’s docents guide schoolchildren through the Ballona Wetlands, teaching them about the plants, insects, birds and other animals that occur naturally in the ecosystem.

No background in nature study is necessary, but you must love the outdoors and have lots of energy and enthusiasm to teach children about nature.

Field trips for the students (mainly 3rd – 5th graders) take place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The trips last approximately two hours and involve four stops or stations: Microscopes, Restoration, Ecology and Birds.

Most of the training sessions involve hiking in and around the wetlands at the salt marsh area of the Ballona Wetlands. Come prepared to walk, so be sure to bring water, sunscreen and a hat and wear walking shoes.

The cost to take part in the program is $30, which includes a training manual and the entire series of lectures. There is also a scholarship program, so no one will be turned away for lack of financial resources.

Training takes place Tuesdays and Thursday’s from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information, call Cindy Hardin at (310)301‐0050 or Diana Spurlin at (310)821‐6444.

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