Environmental Education
Long Branch Environmental Education Center, situated in the Newfound Mountain range in northwest Buncombe County, is 40 minutes from Asheville. Our Environmental Education program provides unique day trip opportunities on over 1,400 acres.
All classes are taught outside and can be customized to meet the needs of your group. Our staff can help you design and conduct programs that align with the North Carolina Essential Standards for Science.
We invite you and your students to visit our outdoor classroom—the forests, the streams, the hiking trails, the orchards—where education lives and breathes. At Long Branch, students are immersed in natural surroundings while participating in hands-on, inquiry-based lessons.
If you have any questions, please email keith@longbrancheec.org
Curriculum
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Students will learn what makes an insect an insect, their life cycles, and the role they play in the ecosystem. They will then go on a micro-hike as they observe insects in action and explore their habitats.
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Students will be introduced to food chains, food webs, and the concepts of community and interdependence through hands on exploration of our forests.
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Students will learn about various skills needed to survive in the wilderness, such as starting a fire, water purifying, and creating makeshift shelters from natural materials.
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Students will learn land and water availability, resource extraction, and sustainability through a series of activities.
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Students will learn about the different trees and plants that live in the region.
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Students will examine the biotic and abiotic factors that make up our forest ecosystem. Students will observe, collect, and identify various macro-invertebrates in our streams using a dichotomous key. They will then use the macro-invertebrates to assess the health of the stream.
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Students will participate in a variety of games and activities that focus on predator/prey relationships, animal adaptations, community interactions, and food chains and webs.
