Camp KEEP naturalists provide video science lessons, fun activities during physical school closures

The impact of school closures in response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has kept many students indoors and unable to explore nature. To this end, naturalists at the Kern Environmental Education Program (Camp KEEP) are developing digital content that delivers videos directly to students, supports teachers with their curriculum development, and brings the outdoors inside during these challenging times.

New video content is being added every weekday at http://www.campkeep.edublogs.org and features science lessons, songs, stories and nature activities. Direct links to content areas are listed below:

“It breaks our hearts that so many students are missing out on the in-person KEEP experience that they looked forward to,” said Elizabeth Roberts, program supervisor at KEEP Ocean. “We’ve been working really hard to stay relevant, support learning and bring some KEEP magic into peoples’ lives from afar.”

For more information about Camp KEEP, visit http://www.campkeep.org.

About Camp KEEP

The Kern County Superintendent of Schools operates the Kern Environmental Education Program (Camp KEEP) at two campuses on the central coast. Nearly 9,000 Kern County fifth and sixth-grade students visit on five-day field trips with their classmates every year to learn about various ecosystems and geology on daily hikes to nearby tide pools, sandy beaches, mountains, creeks, sand dunes and the Morro Bay National Estuary. Students and counselors share the enriching experience of living in cabins together, eating community meals, playing science games by starlight, singing songs around a campfire and falling asleep to the sounds of nature.