Bear Creek Educational Forest at Lake Talquin State Forest

Bear Creek Educational Forest is a 492-acre tract of Lake Talquin State Forest. It offers free educational programs for students.

Amenities

Amenities include:

Air-conditioned classroom with seating for 30 participants.
Five nature trails, including a paved “talking tree” trail and arboretum. Learn more about hiking and camping opportunities. Download our Ravine Trail Arboretum brochure [ 571 kB ] .
Picnic shelter where participants can eat lunch
Restrooms and drinking fountains

Trail Map

Programs

Programs are free for any public or private school group, Scout troop, daycare or other youth organization and are provided by our full-time staff. We welcome adult groups interested in our programs as well. Each program option includes a lesson, game or hands-on activity in the forest. An interpretive hike and souvenir craft to make and take home may also be included.

Program activities at Bear Creek are developed using Project Learning Tree and Project Wild/Aquatic Wild guidelines and correlate with state curriculum standards. Programs generally begin with a short classroom presentation to solidify the basics before moving to hands-on projects.

Wildfire Prevention: Learn the difference between wild and prescribed fires. Discuss the important roles that prescribed fire plays in renewing the forest, including the specific plants and animals that depend on it for survival. Meet wildland firefighters, try on their gear, and learn what it means to be on the front line during wildfires. Students will leave knowing how to put out small fires without water, what to do if they see a wildfire, how to make their home “fire ready," and everyday best practices for wildfire prevention. When available, Smokey Bear will visit to tell his story.
Smokey Program: Hear the story of Smokey Bear, discuss fire safety, and create an art piece to give to Smokey himself. Smokey Programs are designed for students in kindergarten through second grade.
Forest Management: Learn about how a forester manages timber stands through the eyes of the tree. Discuss different ecosystems and tree adaptations, including major forest types found locally. This program will discuss local tree identification and can include the Project Learning Tree activity "Every Tree for Itself." This program pairs well with Forest Products and Forester for a Day.
Forest Products: Did you know that wood products can be found in our food, pharmaceuticals and clothing? Recognize parts of a tree and learn about products that we use in our everyday lives. Discuss the basics of tree growth, tissues and structures, as well as native tree identification. When possible, students will have a chance to core their own tree and determine if it is healthy. This program can include Project Learning Tree's activity "Every Tree for Itself."
Forester for a Day: Examine trees grown for timber using a forester's tools during this “day in the life of a forester” program. This program utilizes skills such as data collection, distance and height measurements, and tree identification. Required education and skills for a career in forestry will also be covered in depth.
Orienteering Adventure: Never get lost again! Students will practice compass and map reading, learn to navigate without a cellphone, and discuss hiking safety.
My First Hike: New to hiking? That is just fine! Take a hike with a forester to learn the do's and don’ts of Florida hiking. Topics such as ticks, dehydration, snakes, spiders and poisonous plants will be covered in depth, while also nurturing a culture of safe curiosity and exploration. Our short (0.5 mile) paved Living Forest Trail is available for a first-time route, or students can hike the unpaved Creek Bottom Trail (0.5 mile) to see the winding Bear Creek. Longer guided hikes, such as the Ravine Trail (1.5 miles) and Bear Creek Trail (3 miles) are also available.
Native Tree Identification: Students will learn the basics of tree identification by taking a hike with a forester. During the hike, students will collect leaves for their very own herbarium that will be completed as a group in the classroom. The goal of this program is to combat “plant blindness," encourage descriptive reasoning, and practice data collection. Leaf shape and arrangement, bark patterns, leaf color, soil types, ecosystems, the importance of plant diversity, wildlife habitat, human impacts to diversity, invasive vs. native, and protected vs. endangered plants are core topics for this program.
Ecosystem Exploration: Learn about our local ecosystems by collecting and comparing data from three sample sites on the Bear Creek Forest. With assistance from our forester, students will be exploring plant diversity, soil moisture, air and soil temperatures, soil types, and wind speed using a variety of provided tools. Students will practice data collection, recording skills, working as a team, and estimating averages. Sites are within walking distance to our classroom, with approximately 1 mile of basic hiking required. This program is designed for high school students.
Macro-Organism Adventure: Determine the water quality of our pond by collecting and identifying native macro-organisms. Students will be provided with nets, microscopes and water trays as they explore life below the surface. Topics such as plant diversity, human impacts to water quality, watersheds, springs vs. seepage, complete vs. incomplete metamorphosis, sampling best practices, and the food web will be covered. The Project Learning Tree Program “Macro-Organism Race” can be included.
Greenhouse Programs: Directly assist with the restoration of Bear Creek Educational Forest by planting native wildflowers and trees in the Bear Creek Greenhouse. Planting programs are limited to four per year (two offered in January, and two in October) on a first-come, first-served basis. Students will learn about native groundcover, host plants, local pollinators, seed scarification and stratification, germination, and best planting practices. Students generally plant two to three trays of trees or wildflowers each, with the average group planting 1,000 seedlings per program.

See some of our fieldtrip schedules [ 5.2 MB ] .

NCSSS Standards We Accommodate

Our programs accommodate the following National Consortium of Specialized STEM Schools (NCSSS) standards:

First Grade

SC.1.L.14.2: Identify the major parts of plants, including stem, roots, leaves and flowers.
SC.1.L.17.1: Through observation, recognize that all plants and animals, including humans, need the basic necessities of air, water, food and space.
SC.1N.1.4: Ask "How do you know?" in appropriate situations.
SC.K2.CS-CP.1.2: Collect and manipulate data using a variety of computing methods (e.g., sorting, totaling and averaging).

Second Grade

SC.2.E.6.2: Describe how small pieces of rock and dead plant and animal parts can be the basis of soil and explain the process by which soil is formed.
SC.2.N.1.3: Ask "How do you know?" in appropriate situations and attempt reasonable answers when asked the same question by others.
SC.2.L.17.1: Compare and contrast the basic needs that all living things, including humans, have for survival.
SC.2.L.17.2: Recognize and explain that living things are found all over Earth, but each is only able to live in habitats that meet its basic needs.

Third Grade

SC.3.L.15.1: Classify animals into major groups (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, arthropods, vertebrates and invertebrates, those having live births and those which lay eggs) according to their physical characteristics and behaviors.
SC.3.L.15.2: Classify flowering and nonflowering plants into major groups such as those that produce seeds, or those like ferns and mosses that produce spores, according to their physical characteristics.
SC.3.L.17.2: Recognize that plants use energy from the sun, air and water to make their own food.
SC.3.P.11.2: Investigate, observe and explain that heat is produced when one object rubs against another, such as rubbing one's hands together.

Fourth Grade

SC.4.E.6.3: Recognize that humans need resources found on Earth and that these are either renewable or nonrenewable.
SC.4.L.16.1: Identify processes of sexual reproduction in flowering plants, including pollination, fertilization (seed production), seed dispersal and germination.
SC.4.L.17.2: Explain that animals, including humans, cannot make their own food and that when animals eat plants or other animals, the energy stored in the food source is passed to them.
SC.4.L.17.4: Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment.
SC.35.CS-CS.1.1: Identify the concepts illustrated by a simulation (e.g., ecosystem, predator/prey and invasive species).

Fifth Grade

SC.5.E.7.2: Recognize that the ocean is an integral part of the water cycle and is connected to all of Earth's water reservoirs via evaporation and precipitation processes.
SC.5.E.7.4: Distinguish among the various forms of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet and hail), making connections to the weather in a particular place and time.
SC.5.L.17.1: Compare and contrast adaptations displayed by animals and plants that enable them to survive in different environments such as life cycles variations, animal behaviors and physical characteristics.
SC.35.CS-CS.1.1: Identify the concepts illustrated by a simulation (e.g., ecosystem, predator/prey, and invasive species).

Sixth Grade

Seventh Grade

SC.7.E.6.6: Identify the impact that humans have had on Earth, such as deforestation, urbanization, desertification, erosion, air and water quality, changing the flow of water.

Eighth Grade

SC.8.L.18.1: Describe and investigate the process of photosynthesis, such as the roles of light, carbon dioxide, water and chlorophyll; production of food; release of oxygen.
SC.8.L.18.2: Describe and investigate how cellular respiration breaks down food to provide energy and releases carbon dioxide.

Ninth–12th Grade

SC.912.L15.13: Describe the conditions required for natural selection, including: overproduction of offspring, inherited variation, and the struggle to survive, which result in differential reproductive success.
SC912.L17.9: Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers and decomposers. Explain the pathway of energy transfer through trophic levels and the reduction of available energy at successive trophic levels.
SC.912.L.18.9: Explain the interrelated nature of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

What to Bring

Students should dress for a day outdoors, possibly in older clothing and comfortable walking shoes. The following items are recommended:

Bottle of water
Insect repellent
Long pants
Comfortable walking shoes (closed-toe hiking shoes)
Bag lunch