Boys and Girls Club kids travel
to Anacapa via the internet

August 08, 2014
Santa Paula News

Children at the Santa Clara Valley Boys and Girls Club had a unique experience last week.

Jan Margolin, Chief Executive Officer of the Club said, “We were working in partnership with the Ventura County Education Office and Channel Islands National Park to experience a live hike held on Anacapa Island.” 

The kids at the Boys and Girls Club had hoped to talk to a ranger out on the island, but technical difficulties allowed them to see and hear the ranger, but they could not ask him questions.

“This is one of those cutting edge, virtual field trip experiences and one of the first around here,” Margolin said. “We’re very excited about it. It’s another way of engaging and having kids learn about science in real time.”

The children seemed to enjoy the program and, although they couldn’t talk to the ranger they could hear what he had to say.

Cathy Reznicek the Educational Technology Specialist with the Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) said, “We have a collaborative partnership with the National Park Service in order to help bring the programs from the islands to the mainland.” Anacapa is about 14 miles off the coast. It used to be that only visitors who could get to the island could see a lot of the things. The Park Service wanted to reach out and try to bring the Park to the people. We have the infrastructure at VCOE because we supply internet connectivity to all our schools and districts and we have microwave towers, so we work with them to bring the signal to the mainland.”

The purpose of the Channel Islands Live project is to increase public awareness of Anacapa Island and marine ecosystems of Channel Islands National Park and National Marine Sanctuary through education and outreach programs.

Using a personal computer, everyone can access Channel Islands Live web cams to watch a pair of nesting bald eagles in the process of raising this year’s chicks on Santa Cruz Island at www.nps.gov/chis/photomultimedia/webcams,htm.

Other web cams offer up-close views of California brown pelicans and western gulls nesting on Anacapa Island.





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