MEP Activities
NEW: Mole crab program
Mole crabs are important herbivores in beach ecosystems and are a food source for birds, fish, and even sea otters. They are sensitive to change and are an indicator species meaning they act as a canary in the coal mines for toxins contaminants and toxins in the ocean.
Sandy Beach Monitoring created by LiMPETS is an in-depth educational program where students learn about and survey mole crabs in Sandy Cove. Students collect data on mole crab abundance, size, and sex during the Marine Ecology Program and then upload this data into the LiMPETS database so scientists can track mole crab populations. This is a fantastic program where students activiely participate in and contribute to scientific moniroting.
"LiMPETS monitors the biology in rocky intertidal and sandy beach ecosystems and aims to provide publicly accessible, scientifically sound, long-term data to inform marine resource management and the scientific community." - LiMPETS website
This program is designed for students in grades 6–12 and college students. Contact us if you are interested in this program for younger age groups.
Program structure: teacher training and in-class presentation for students, 2.5-3 h mole crab survey in the field, optional mole crab dissection, data entry and exploration.
Enquire now for Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 by emailing mep@fortross.org
Photo source: Micheal Douglas, iNaturalist
Sea Lion Hike and Survey
Students learn how to distinguish the different species of sea lions along our coast and practice identifying them. After an introduction to citizen science and our monitoring methods, students hike to the sea lion island viewpoint to see and try to count our resident California and Steller sea lions using spotting scopes and binoculars.
This activity is suitable for all ages including elementary, middle and high school students
Sea lions are endlessly entertaining. We see them swim, play, jump off cliffs, and seemingly have arguments with each other. Sometimes we even see mothers nursing their young pups!
Helping Kelp!
Kelp forests used to line the West Coast of North America - where did they go? Learn about the importance of kelp for both people and marine life, the factors that lead to their catastrophic loss, and restoration efforts currently underway to try to help bring them back. Students have the opportunity to handle and measure purple sea urchins collected locally by kelp restoration scientists. Middle and high school students can also dissect the sea urchins to see uni, or the urchin's gonads, that are eaten.
This activity is suitable for all ages including elementary, middle and high school students.
Tidepooling: The Rocky Intertidal Zone
Tidepooling is a treasure hunt to find cryptic, conspicuous and stunningly beautiful intertidal organisms. The intertidal in California is incredibly biodiverse. It is home to a huge array of marine invertebrates, fish and different types of algae. Find sea stars, admire anemones, search for abalone, and see how animals live in different areas of the intertidal ecosystem depending on their needs.
In our programs, students have found crabs just a few millimeters in size, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, and even, sadly, sea stars with wasting disease that we reported on iNaturalist.
This activity can be advanced for middle and high school students with an intertidal survey using quadrats along a transect line.
This activity is suitable for all ages including elementary, middle and high school students.
How many Harbor Seals call Fort Ross Home?
This activity gives students the opportunity to be a field biologist - counting is science! We learn about harbor seal biology and ecology and then, with binoculars, we count the seals in Fort Ross Cove. Students learn about respecting shy seals and why marine mammal monitoring is so important for conservation. In the spring, we are usually lucky enough to see pups!
This activity is suitable for all ages including elementary, middle and high school students.
1800s Fur Trade: What happened to Sonoma's Sea Otters? 
A major reason Fort Ross was built in 1812 was to hunt sea otters. Sea otters have incredibly soft fur that was so valuable at the time it was known as "Soft Gold". Sadly, after the intense hunting efforts sea otters no longer live in the area. Not only do we miss these adorable marine mammals, the loss of sea otters has also contributed to the decline of kelp forests along the coast.
In this activity, we explore the buildings in the Fort and go inside the Fur Warehouse and Trade Store where students can feel different furs including sea otter fur and see trade items. Visiting historic and re-created structures, we learn about the diverse peoples who lived and worked here, including the Kashia Pomo, the Russians who established “Fort Ross,” and the skilled Alaska Native hunters.
By examining the cultural history of Fort Ross we look at how human practices impact the environment and natural biodiversity. Students see first hand the long-lasting impact of unsustainable hunting and learn about the need to protect and restore the natural environment.
This activity is suitable for all ages including elementary, middle and high school students.
Beach time 
During lunch, students have the chance to explore the beach and elementary students can participate in a beach scavenger hunt. Our MEPs almost always have the whole beach to themselves. Students can find shells, play in the sand, build drift wood structures and watch out for river otters, whales, and harbor seals that peak above the surface. This is a great experience for students who don't have the opportunity to visit the beach very often.
Photos: Dr. Dione Deaker, Coastal Naturalist
Student Feedback
Come and see why students enjoy our program so much!
2024
"The program was really fun and I would want to do it again. I also loved the enthusiasm that [the] MEP [instructors] had about explaining facts about sea urchins and sea lions/ seals."
"I thought it was really amazing and I loved the Sea lions, touching the urchins, and seeing many amazing historical buildings in Fort Ross. I learned about how the sea urchins are overpopulating, and eating all the kelp. I hope the ecosystem comes back because I love Sea Otters. The second thing I learned is that the Sea lions did not do what I thought because I've known that sea lions swim a lot but this time I saw them relaxing and chilling [on the islands], which I though was very cool."
"I enjoyed the Marine Ecology program very much. The people there were very nice and I just had a great time overall. The buildings there were super cool and awesome to explore. I also enjoyed when we got to touch and research the sea urchins."
"It was amazing. The sights were cool, the animals were fun, and the whole program seemed well thought out and it was very well done. I learned that Sea otters were hunted out of the area, and that Sea urchins took over the kelp forest. My favorite activity was when we used the binoculars to see the Sea lions and Seals."
2023
" I really like this field trip because I have never really seen or done anything like this before and this is something I would definitely like to do again in the future. I loved having free exploring time in the fort and getting to walk through the cow field to see the sea lions and going to the tide pools, over all everything."
"It was a very fun and educational field trip helping me learn a lot about different topics not just about marine mammals but about the people who lived in fort ross and created it. My favorite activity was when me and my friends got too observe the tide pools and [explore] around the rocks looking for tide pool creatures right next to the ocean."
"The two best things were being able to see a [harbor seal] pup and also being at the tide pools where [our instructor] Dione taught us about the starfish and how they [lost] their limbs [due to the sea star wasting disease]. My favorite activity there was seeing all the old building[s] and ringing the bell."