Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve - Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

Welcome

The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (ESNERR) is one of 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves established nationwide as field laboratories for scientific research and estuarine education. The Reserve is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). A third partner is Elkhorn Slough Foundation, whose mission is to conserve and restore Elkhorn Slough and its watershed habitats. 

The 1700-acre Reserve is a hub of activity and hosts programs that promote education, research, and conservation in Elkhorn Slough. The Visitor Center has award-winning exhibits that invite everyone to explore the Unseen Slough (life in the mud). There are over five miles of trails that meander through beautiful oak woodlands, calm tidal creeks, mudflats, and brackish marshes. 

The Elkhorn Slough Reserve's education program serves K-college students and their teachers. Trainings prepare teachers for full use of our facilities, programs, and trails. The reserve became a GLOBE Program Partnership in 2016! Through GLOBE, students and teachers are being prepared to participate in citizen science data collection and environmental investigations, which contribute meaningfully to their understanding about the Earth's systems. 

ESR conducts two GLOBE teacher workeshops a year, one for k-6 teachers and the other for 7-college teachers. These prepare teachers to set up GLOBE sites at their respective schools and provide activities and data collection ideas for teachers on field trips. GLOBE prepares teachers to guide students in monitoring and investigating their local environments and provides opportunities for teachers to collaborate with other teachers from nearby or on the other side of the world! There is no limit to how teachers can use the resources and networks provided by GLOBE. The more creative the teacher, the more the program thrives!

The reserve has fused GLOBE activities into its field trip offerings. Teachers can investigate water quality at South Marsh bridge using Hydrosphere protocols. They can measure canopy cover and ground cover biometry protocols in the forest. Advanced students can determine the Carbon content of the trees in a study site within the forest and compare it to data collected in the past by other students to determine if the trees continue to increase their Carbon content  or are losing Carbon. Another GLOBE option at the reserve is soils. Students can compare forest, grassland, and slough mud profiles to investigate their properties and differences. In addition they can determine the pH and Nitrogen Potassium and Phosphorus content of each soil horizon.