Modjeska Canyon

Located in the Santa Ana Mountains, the Modjeska Canyon Nature Preserve is a protected natural area surrounded by national forest. Ecosystems represented include riparian along Santiago Creek, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral. Inside the Outdoors ® at Modjeska Canyon provides a variety of opportunities for your students to study ecology, learn plant and animal adaptations, and identify edible and useful plants.

Curriculum enrichment for 5th grade:
California Science Content Standards Life Science, Earth Science, Investigation and Experimentation
5th Grade: 2f, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 6b, 6f
6th Grade: 2a, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5e, 7a, 7d

Fifth and sixth grade students explore Modjeska Wilderness Preserve during this one day field trip. The learning stations include:

Animal Stations
Students participate in hands-on stations to learn about some of the functions that animals serve in an ecosystem and how the animals can be classified.

Plant Labs
Students work in cooperative groups at six lab stations to learn how plants adapt to dry conditions in the chaparral ecosystem.

Energy/Food Pyramid
Participating in a demonstration and discussion of energy pyramids in ecosystems helps students understand the interdependence of living and non-living things.

Live Animals
Students see and touch a live mammal and reptile representative of animals in this ecosystem and learn how their adaptations enable them to survive.

Water Station Students participate in several hands-on activities to learn about the source of their local water, the water cycle, the amount of fresh water available on Earth, and water reuse.