Environmental Education and Youth Service Opportunities On The Channel Islands

Channel Islands Restoration provides quality service learning opportunities to school and youth groups on the California Channel Islands that emphasize habitat restoration and island ecology. We have worked with more than 2,100 kids accompanied by more than 360 adults since 2004.

Volunteers make single-day or multi-day trips to the islands, where they receive hands-on restoration experience while learning about conservation biology and the unique ecology of the Channel Islands National Park.

CIR also provides pre-trip PowerPoint presentations and nature walks that excite and educate the participants and prepare them for their trip. We work closely with teachers to complement school curriculum. If you would like more information about this unique service project and educational opportunity please scroll down to see detailed information on the following topics:

* Anacapa Island Restoration
* East Santa Cruz Island Restoration
* Western Santa Cruz Island Restoration
* Pre-trip Activities
* Transportation
* Participating Schools & Youth Groups

Mainland Educational Tours: 2024 REIN Teen Tours

REIN Teen Tours and Channel Islands Restoration recently embarked on an incredible four-week journey to provide learning and community service opportunities to high school students from the East Coast. These educational activities provided enriching experiences for students, who witnessed the beauty of California while preserving its native habitat through staff-led programs and chaperoned day trips. 

Between learning about the geographic formations that shaped our planet, participating in seed collecting at the San Marcos Foothills, and removing invasive plants along the Santa Barbara coastline in search of native wildlife (plus much more), Channel Islands Restoration successfully hosted meaningful student experiences. It sparked a greater understanding of environmental conservation for the next generation.

Anacapa Island Restoration

CIR has worked with Channel Islands National Park on important and exciting habitat restoration projects on Anacapa Island. We've worked with school groups on single-day trips to remove non-native ice plant that threatens the island's sea bird nesting habitat and native plant communities. Our trips included a visit to the classroom in advance with a provided PowerPoint presentation and we've worked with teachers to tailor the trip to their curriculum.

Typical itinerary:

  • 9:00 AM: Depart Ventura or Channel Islands Harbor
  • 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM: Arrive at Anacapa Island landing cove, receive island orientation, safety talk, and island tour
  • 11:30 - 12:00 PM: Lunch
  • 12:00 - 1:30 PM: Nature walk/seed collection
  • 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM: Perform ice plant removal
  • 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM: Return to Landing Cove and board boat
  • 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Return to Ventura Harbor

East Santa Cruz Island Restoration

CIR has worked with Channel Islands National Park to remove non-native plants, collect seed and plant native species in sensitive habitats on the eastern end of Santa Cruz Island. We've conducted both day-trips and multi-day trips to this portion of the island, and several hundred school kids have helped us with this project so far.

Day-trips typical itinerary:

  • 9:00 AM: Depart Ventura Harbor
  • 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM: Arrive at Scorpion Harbor, receive island orientation and safety talk.
  • 11:00 - 11:30 AM: Take nature walk along the trail to Cavern Point overlook.
  • 11:30 - 12:00 PM: Lunch at Cavern Point
  • 12:00 - 3:30 PM: Walk to restoration sites, perform service work
  • 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM: Return to Harbor, board boat
  • 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Return to Ventura Harbor

Multi-day trips

On overnight trips, participants stayed in the Park Service campground and got involved with a wide variety of activities and visited a larger part of the island. In addition to performing service work at several important restoration sites, participants had the opportunity to hike on interesting trails, swim, and take kayak excursions (see the photos below).

Western Santa Cruz Island Restoration

The western portion of Santa Cruz Island is owned by The Nature Conservancy, and it is managed as a nature reserve. It is not open to the general public, but CIR has been able to bring volunteers to this part of the island to perform restoration work. CIR leads groups in many types of restoration projects there on trips that usually last four or five days. Housing was provided at the UC Santa Barbara Reserve station in the island’s Central Valley, and included rooms with bunk beds and full kitchen facilities. The photos below illustrate how beautiful this part of the island are and why it is such an interesting place to visit.

Pre-trip Activities For All Trips

CIR provides a variety of pre-trip educational services designed to prepare students for their trip and to reinforce what they learn while on the islands. Our popular PowerPoint presentations cover the following topics:

  • The unique nature of the island and nearby marine sanctuary
  • Maps and photos of the islands the student will be visiting
  • Native American and European ranching history
  • Island ecology and why islands are particularly vulnerable to human disturbance
  • The impacts of non-native species
  • Native plant and animal restoration projects
  • Slides of kids having fun participating in service projects

Transportation for all Trips

Boat transportation was usually been provided by Island Packers (www.islandpackers.com) which offers special rates to schools. Boats leave from Ventura Harbor (for Santa Cruz Island and some Anacapa Trips) or from Channel Islands Marina (for some Anacapa trips). The trip to the islands usually takes between 1 and 2 hours. The boat ride is always a great deal of fun for kids and is quite educational experience. We often spot marine mammals enroute, such as large pods of dolphins and whales.

Participating School and Youth Groups

CIR has worked with more than 3,200 young people since 2004 (as of January 2017).
The following is a partial list of participating schools youth groups:

 
  • American Tall Ship Institute
  • Besant Hill School
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Carpinteria Family School
  • Cesar Chavez Elementary School
  • City of Lake, MN Waldorf School
  • Dunn Middle School
  • E.P. Foster Elementary
  • Girl Scouts Troop 10565, Mendocino
  • Goleta Family School
  • Holy Cross School
  • Los Angeles Conservation Crops
  • Mates School
  • Meiners Oaks Elementary School
  • Mira Monte
  • Monroe High School
  • Nordhoff High School
  • Oak Grove School
  • Ojai Valley School
  • Paso Robles High School
  • Rein Teen Tours
  • San Antonio Elementary School
  • Santa Barbara Charter School
  • Santa Barbara Home School Network
  • SB Museum of Natural History Youth Group
  • Santa Barbara Unitarians Society
  • Santa Monica Mountains NRA Youth
  • Sheridan Way Elementary School
  • Spring Hill, MN Waldorf School
  • Sun Valley High School
  • Sunset Elementary
  • Thatcher School
  • Topa Topa Elementary
  • UC Irvine Alternative Spring Break
  • Ventura Boys and Girls Club
  • Ventura Charter School
  • Ventura High School
  • Youth Conservation Corps