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The City of Berkeley Marina Experience and Adventure Playground Programs have delighted over 40,000 adults and children each year.
Children of all ages can come to play in the Adventure Playground. Come visit the Shorebird Park Nature Center Strawbale building which demonstrates the use of "Green materials" and shows a Bay Aquarium, fresh water tank, fish, birds, and exhibits. The new portable Classroom area will be used to teach children about the ecology of their estuary, watershed, and the Bay.
Volunteers are encouraged to "Adopt a beach" and join our Shoreline Clean-Ups. We provide a Volunteer Bay Interpretive Training Program for interested adults to help provide teachers and students high quality environmental education programs.
Please go to the sub-pages of these sites below for more information. Please feel free to contact us.
What's New?
New portable classroom arrived Easter weekend! We hope to be using the building for the Marine biology classes in July. Stop by for a tour. Here is information about this green portable.
Adventure Playground
Open : weekends from 11 - 5 p.m. Closed when raining.
Groups of 5 or more need to make reservations at least a month in advance. Come join the fun- . Want to drop your child and his friend off ? Fill out the registration form for children 7 yrs and older who "drop in" the Adventure Playground for three hours only without a parent. For $10.00. Pick up is at 4:30. Have their parents fill out the form and sign the waiver which you need to bring when you come- No waiver, no drop off. If you signed one in the summer, we require a new one filled out for the summer. Playment cards are available in the Nature Center T- Sat. for drop-ins for 5 visits each card. Helpful for on Sundays when the Nature Center is closed.
SUMMER Marine Biology & Boating at the Shorebird Park Nature Center160 University Ave. Berkeley, CA 94710
Interested and missed the date? There are still spaces left, check the link here to see what is available. Then call the Nature Center at (510) 981-6720, to see when you can come in to sign up. Please call before you come, we are frequently out teaching and the building is locked. First come first serve.
Shoreline Clean-up Year round: We offer an educational program for your group's service learning project. We will provide you or your group with a viewing of Synthetic Sea's dvd, and a discussion about plastic impact on the environment. For your clean-up we encourage you to bring your own bags and reusable buckets but if you don't have them we can supply bags, and gloves. Bring your own personal non disposable water bottle. Call us if you or your family or group is interested. YOU SET THE DATE. All of us ( animals) need your help!
Shorebird Nature Center
Open to visitors Tues. - Sat. 9am -5pm. Unless we are teaching, then we are open 1-5. If you would like to schedule:
1. a tour of our straw bale building and the "green" components and see the DVD of how it was made. $59. for an hour program and tour. Call us let us know how we can design the talk to meet your needs.
2.or plan to visit us to take a self guided tour please call, 510 981-6720.
Inside our Strawbale building, we have a Bay aquarium, a fresh water tank, a fish and bird exhibits and more. For more info see this link. STRAW BALE BUILDING Environmentally sensitive building is our office and visitors center. Check this link for information and pictures. The full photo documentary and green items are available to see inside the building, or see our new Wind turbine generator working outside.
Next international clean-up is September 25th, 2010 It is the largest research project in the world. The data collected will help change the law about marine dumping. Please join us and get detail by clicking on the link. 80% of the debris we clean-up comes from off our streets. We need you and your groups to help pick it up. Plastic is impacting the oceans globally. Learn how you can help the marine mammals, birds and turtles who are affected by this. Come help us with this international event .. See the results of the 2008 International Clean-Up and 2009
Volunteer Bay Interpretive Training Program. Click on this link to find out the most asked questions and download an application. We instruct you how to help us, as we teach the classes. Your minimum commitment is 14 hrs a months- including the trainings. A PDF flier with all the dates can be downloaded here. Or Call 510 981-6720 and a form and brochure will be mailed to you.
JOBS WITH ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND, $16.25 per hour. Summer application are now closed. Starting in August there may be work on weekends, and midweek. Applicants must have at least two years experience working with children, and or a specialized talent working with carpentry. Job is out of doors, fun in the sun. Please call now for an application to be mailed to your home.
The Marina Experience Programs are under the Recreation Division of the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Department. The programs are run by two full time staff, Patty Donald, Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator Dara Rossoff, and staff Elizabeth Faletti and Jim Wells.
Dara Rossoff is off on maternity leave until August. She and Baby Sasha are doing well.
Patty Donald , Naturalist Coordinator and creator of these programs was nominated by her wonderful docents for the Jefferson Award. And she won! here is a link to the information about her , the programs and the award. http://cbs5.com/jeffersonawards/Jefferson.Awards.Donald.2.897804.html