Daley Ranch - Escondido, CA

7th graders visit Daley Ranch

All the 7th-grade students from Escondido Union School District’s middle schools visit Daley Ranch for a full-day of learning about nature and history of Daley Ranch as well as its preservation. This year there were 11 days of field trips.

Students are bused from their school to the entrance gate of Daley Ranch. They then hike to the Ranch House. The education program is divided into five learning stations which are led by volunteer educators and rangers. The program includes:
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1. Nature hike exploring native plants and Habitats including chaparral, oak woodlands, and grasslands.
2. The mammals of Daley Ranch including taxidermy specimens.*
3. Native American Culture: Explore the history of the original inhabitants of the area.
4. All About Daley Ranch: its history and concepts of preservation and conservation
5. Smaller animals: reptiles, amphibians, insects including encounters with live snakes and a tarantula

Students rotate between stations with a break for lunch. Friends of Daley Ranch (FODR) has been sponsoring the outdoor educational program at Daley Ranch for the 7th graders from the EUSD for the past 20 years. It was initiated and run by Fred Woods, a former FODR president and science teacher, and Rick Mercurio, a long-time board member of FODR. Both were long-time teachers.

FODR welcomes volunteers and donations for the ongoing program.

Jennifer Radkey, a researcher in biology and conservation, gave a wonderful presentation on pollinators, bumble bees and their conservation and management.

Jennifer talked about the life cycle of bees, other types of pollinators other than bees, how they can compete with one another for population growth. She mentioned their survey project of bumble bees population vs other pollinators in Daley Ranch to manage and conserve native pollinators within the conserve.

For those who are planning a pollinator garden, she suggests planting a variety of pollinator-supporting flowering plants which will bloom at different time of the year to support the full life cycle of the pollinators.

The next FODR Discussion with Friends will be on Sunday, July 12. The topic is about turtles. More details will follow as the date is near.