Field Trip: Edgewood Park Junior Explorers Hike

When: All year, depending on docent availability
Where: Edgewood County Park (10 Old Stage Coach Road, Redwood City)
Who: All ages - younger children will stay near the Education Center, older children will hike 1-2 miles. Also note they require a 1:5 docent:child ratio so group size may be limited by docent availability.
Cost: Free, but donations gratefully accepted

We found out about the Friends of Edgewood offering guided walks in early spring. We couldn't book a walk immediately as they require 3 weeks notice; also, spring is a very popular time since the wildflowers are in bloom. However, the co-ordinator was very friendly and worked tirelessly to find docents for our group which included children from preschool (3 years) to middle school. The preschoolers went on a separate walk near the Education Center, while the docent led the school-aged children on a longer hike, 1-2 miles.

Younger Kids (Preschool)

We didn't walk very far, definitely not tiring for little legs.  We looked and smelled and felt different plants, and the docents asked questions to encourage the little kids to make observations ("What do you see on that rock?  What color is it?  Where do you think this came from?"). The docents also talked about the differences between live and valley oaks, spotted galls, CA buckeyes, CA bay trees and identified a few others.

Older Kids (School-Age)

The hike started out with an important caution: steer clear of poison oak! It grew abundantly throughout the park.

Leaves of three, let them be.

The steepest part of the hike was at the beginning, with a slope and then nine switchbacks. Along the way, the docent pointed out what looked like a random pile of sticks but was actually a Dusky Footed Woodrat's nest. Once we knew what to look for, we kept seeing them and counted 14 on our hike.

It may not look like much, but it's home for a Dusky Footed Woodrat..

 Interesting factoids about the Dusky Footed Woodrat:

• It gathers together sticks and chews out chambers for its home. Each chamber has a distinct use, e.g. food storage, nursery, bedroom.
• Each nest has multiple escape paths. To avoid detection, it would rather scurry across branches than on the woodland floor which has dried leaves that rustle.
• Sometimes a snake moves into the rat's nest. The rat simply walls off that chamber and the two animals continue living in the same nest even though the snake might eat the rat if it encountered it on the woodland floor!

Other interesting plants that we encountered along the hike:

Farewell to Spring - among the last to bloom for spring
Photo credit: Friends of Edgewood Park

California Sagebrush, aka "Cowboy Cologne". Try touching it!

Madrone, aka "Refrigerator Tree".
The thin bark allows you to feel the sap running through, so it is cool to the touch.
The peeling bark may have to do with the fact the trunk also photosynthesizes.

Sticky Monkey Flower.
Touch it and you'll figure out the "sticky" part of the name, but why"monkey"?

Soap plant - natives used to chop its tubers and use it for washing, its fibers could also be used for hair brushes.
Now we have no excuse to look scrappy out in the bush. :)

At the top of the trail, we took a break and enjoyed the amazing view.

Then it was back down again, with breaks to point out wildlife: a red-shouldered hawk, juncos, a blue skin and even a black-tail deer. The docent brought loupes so the children could examine flora and fauna that caught their fancy.

The walk took 2.5 hours and although some of the children got hungry and/or tired, there was enough to see that they wanted to keep going. Kudos to the docents!

Suggestion: Before or after the trip, check out the Friends of Edgewood website - they have a field guide and printable activities.