Environmental Living Program (ELP)
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Thank you for your interest in the Fort Ross State Historic Park ELP program!
Before we proceed with getting your group on our calendar, you should be aware of some changes and limitations to the program this school year.
By order of the fire marshal, we cannot allow anyone to sleep in any of the fort buildings until certain infrastructure issues are addressed. If your group is able to do tent camping, you can still stay in the fort compound. However, sleeping indoors is currently prohibited.
No open flames can be in or near any building at this time. Groups may still cook over the firepit outside the Officers' Barracks, but no cook items can be plugged into any of the outlets (such as crockpots or rice cookers), and the indoor brick oven is no longer available. The firepit must be tended at all times and cannot be left burning throughout the night.
If you would like to proceed with booking an ELP overnight, please let us know potential dates and we will provide more information and work to accommodate your visit. There is also an option to do an ELP day program. Our Marine Ecology program is also available with the same overnight restrictions listed above, or as a day program. The Marine Ecology program teaches about the unique coastal ecosystem as well as the historic events that have shaped this place throughout the centuries. Tide pool activities and marine mammal curriculum are available and can be tailored to suit the needs of your group.
If you've made it this far and would still like to proceed, please reach out to Hank Birnbaum via email HankB@fortross.org
Our Marine Ecology program is also available with the same overnight restrictions listed above, or as a day program. The Marine Ecology program teaches about the unique coastal ecosystem as well as the historic events that have shaped this place throughout the centuries. Tide pool activities and marine mammal curriculum are available and can be tailored to suit the needs of your group. For more information, please contact Dr. Dione Deaker via email DioneD@fortross.org
Thank you for your continued support of the Fort Ross Conservancy educational programs!
The ELP provides hands-on learning which allows students to explore the interaction between people and their environment. While spending time on a breathtaking and remote historic coastal site, students learn about the history and rich cultures of the peoples that have been present at Metini / Fort Ross, focusing on pre-contact, ‘Russian era’ and today. Through performing tasks that were a part of daily life at Metini / Fort Ross - and doing activities designed to teach students about some of the cultural craftwork practiced among the different peoples of Metini / Fort Ross - students gain a better understanding of a unique chapter in California history, and their relationship to it.
Some of these tasks and activities include cooking meals in an outdoor kitchen, fishing and ‘hunting’ for food, gardening, gathering, basket weaving, mapping, making candles, collecting and stacking firewood, processing natural materials that have been gathered according to season, trading, practicing artisanal crafts, and dancing, During an overnight Fort Ross ELP, students, parents, and teachers sleep inside the historic fort compound buildings.