Anza-Borrego distance learning program receives national award

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sally Theriault
Phone: (760) 767-4063
March 19, 2009

Anza-Borrego distance learning program receives national award

Borrego Springs - On March 18, Anza-Borrego PORTS education programs received national recognition in the form of a $25,000 grant from the National Park Service (NPS) through their Challenge Cost Share Program, which will introduce 1,000 new students to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, an NPS designated National Natural Landmark, through video conferencing technology during the 2009-2010 school year. The Challenge Cost Share Program supports projects that preserve and improve natural, cultural, and recreational resources. Anza-Borrego PORTS has been successful in science education and as a model program for upcoming distance learning programs, including Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree National Parks.

Anza-Borrego PORTS (Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students) is an innovative video conferencing program that delivers live presentations to California students, connecting them to the ecology, wildlife, geology and paleontology of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP). The students communicate with an ABDSP interpreter using video cameras, allowing them to see each other, interact, and ask questions, all in real time right from their classrooms.

A program provided free of charge, Anza-Borrego PORTS reaches students and teachers who would not otherwise learn about the Park and its resources. Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute, nonprofit partner of ABDSP, provides for about 1/3 of the program’s cost, to match public funding.

Anza-Borrego PORTS is reaching more and more students every year and demand continues to grow. “To fill the void left by a decline in school field trips, PORTS was created in 2004 in the hopes of engaging and connecting students with outdoor spaces again,” said Gail Sevrens, the California State Parks staff overseeing Anza-Borrego PORTS.

Edie Walker, a 6th grade teacher at South Gate Middle School Magnet, has been utilizing the programs for four years. “The exposure through PORTS is the first time most of my students learn that the Park even exists,” she said. Walker’s students were so captivated and full of questions after the program was over, she decided they should visit the Park in person. With the help of the local Sierra Club, she now incorporates a follow up visit to the Park after every PORTS experience. Walker considers these field trips “icing on the cake.”

“The hope is that Anza-Borrego PORTS will open the door to a world that inspires children to venture outdoors and explore the wonders they experienced in the classroom,” adds Linda Tandle, Executive Director of Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute.

Anza-Borrego PORTS, the only program with a fulltime staff member dedicated to program development and delivery, is part of a statewide program providing complete units of study that make use of the technology already present in 86% of school districts across California. Sevrens adds, “Exposure to Parks aside, a significant benefit of the video conferences is students’ introduction to the modern technology being used across the world to surmount geographic barriers.”

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park offers more than 640,000 acres of spectacular open-space to visitors from all over the world. It is the largest state park in California and the largest state park in the contiguous United States. Five-hundred miles of dirt roads, 12 wilderness areas and miles of hiking trails provide an unparalleled opportunity to experience the wonders of the California Desert. The Park features washes, wildflowers, palm groves, cacti and sweeping vistas and is also home to endangered bighorn sheep, or borrego.

ABDSP was designated by National Park Service as a National Natural Landmark in 1974. To be nationally significant, a site must be one of the best examples of a type of biotic community or geologic feature. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park contains some of the best examples of the various desert biotic communities of the Colorado Desert. Five hundred species of plants, 137 species of birds, 70 mammals, 37 reptiles, and 17 amphibians have been identified within the landmark boundaries.

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