School Field Trips

Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission invites you to discover nature "in our own backyard" with our free County Parks field trips.  The Parks Naturalist has several different field trip programs available (on a reservation basis) throughout the year, including walks in the winter.  The busiest months are September and October and May and June, so call early to book trips in these months. 

Several of our parks offer unique nature programming opportunities (see below), but field trip themes also include general topics such as habitats (i.e. a forest hike), insects, birds, plants (i.e. tree or wildflower identification), seasonal walks (i.e. signs of spring), etc.  Most general themes would be appropriate in any of the parks, although some parks might be better sites for certain topics. 

The following is a brief park location and description of the special natural features found in each park in which we offer our interpretive programs.  Please click on the link for the full interpretive program description.

Park Lyndon - western Washtenaw County, north of Chelsea 
   Special program topics:  glacial geology, wetlands, forest ecology

Independence Lake County Park - north central Washtenaw County
   Special program topics:  prairie habitat, wetlands, frogs and toads/pond life (life cycles - spring only)

Rolling Hills County Park - south eastern Washtenaw County
   Special program topics:  habitats, birds, frogs and toads/pond life
(life cycles - spring only)

County Farm Park - southeast Ann Arbor
   Special program topics:  forest ecology, spring wildflowers

Parker Mill County Park - eastern Washtenaw County
   Special program topics:  19th century milling, floodplain forest habitat

Field Trip Guidelines - rules and guidelines for planning your trip

Further information can be obtained by calling Faye Stoner at  971-6337, ext. 334, weekdays 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.  If you are not able to speak to the naturalist directly when you call, leave your name, number and message, including a good time of day to be able to reach you, and your call will be returned as quickly as possible.