Explore San Francisco’s natural history with your students.
Finding Urban Nature: An Educators’ Guide to Exploring San Francisco Natural History is not curriculum or a book of activities. It is written for adults who have an interest in natural history—and who are also educators. It will help you locate and learn about parks and natural areas near your schools, as well as provide enough background information so that you will feel comfortable exploring these areas with your students. Whether or not you are well-versed in the “whys” and “hows” of the natural world, we hope this guide will enable you to be a naturalist and to share that experience with your students.
The guide begins with three short chapters to help you get started: Crissy Field Center staff members’ best field-trip tips, a list of easy outdoor activities you can do with students, and descriptions of three sure-fire websites you can turn to for environmental education resources.
The basics of natural history are covered here—geology, weather, watersheds, plants, insects, and so on.
This section contains portraits of San Francisco’s seven watersheds and includes maps showing the locations of schools and featured natural areas within the watersheds.
Here you will find descriptions of more than 35 of San Francisco’s parks and natural areas. We chose locations that are spread across the city, which—we hope, means that a place near you is included.
Here you will find one-page descriptions of 36 common San Francisco plants and animals each featuring a photo, scientific name, common name, historical uses, and interesting facts about the organism.
At the end of the guide, you will find tables that lay out the notable features of each natural area in an easy-to-grasp format. This will help you choose where to go and what to expect when you get there.
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If you have comments or questions about the guide, please contact Nancy Caplan.
Nature in Your Neighborhood: Workshop Series
Join Literacy for Environmental Justice, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and Crissy Field Center as we utilize “Finding Urban Nature: An Educators’ Guide to Exploring San Francisco Natural History” for a 2-day, hands-on workshop exploring Heron’s Head, McLaren and Candlestick Parks as living Classrooms. For more information about these workshops contact Charity Maybury.
Non-Formal Educators: August 25th – August 26th
