PORTS News
Discover Blended-Access with passPORTS!
"blended-access is a deeper dive into the material. Immigration history is hard to wrap your head around and sharing this story from multiple voices over time helps re-enforce the learning, hopefully opening their mind to historic events that many people interpret as wrong." -- California State Park Interpreter John Clagett.
Posted: March 3, 2022
"students engaging in student-centered learning involves them in the process and connects them with the resource...I could tell you what I think is cool about the park, but this get's us understanding what their interests are and what they want to do, that's why I think the passPORTS project is so impactful." California State Park Interpreter Parker Grand
Posted: March 3, 2022
Explore Donner Memorial State Park with the passPORTS Symposium
Posted: February 15,2022On a brisk Saturday morning, January 29, 2022, nine K-12 educators from across Northern California joined California State Park Interpreters at Donner Memorial State Park to help us re-imagine the school field trip with passPORTS. This project, coincidentally launched at the onset of the pandemic, sought to support K-12 learning in our California State Parks to be more meaningful.
Discover the passPORTS Symposium with Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Continuing our work to re-imagine the school field trip, on November 13th, PassPORTS hosted a teacher symposium at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park visitor center. Teachers from San Diego, Imperial, and Riverside counties came to explore the park, learn about resources available to them, and understand how to connect student learning to our parks whether virtually or in-person.
Explore the passPORTS Symposium with Refugio State Beach!
“I’m #stoked on the passPORTS program, and I can’t wait to share it with my students!” On September 25th, seventeen teachers met with PORTS at Refugio State Beach with the mission to build learning experiences for students in virtual and in-person classrooms.
Help us Celebrate our Accomplishments with PORTS!
In the 2020-2021 we exceeded our greatest expectations by serving 1,000,000 students since inception! See below to learn more about PORTS accomplishments and our hopes and dreams for the future!
Dive into World Ocean Day with California State Parks and Monterey Bay Aquarium!
June 2, 2021
California State Parks’ PORTS Program is excited to announce a special partnership with Monterey Bay Aquarium for World Ocean Day 2021. A special live-streamed program will be broadcast on PORTS Program's Facebook page on Tuesday, June 8 from 8-10 a.m. PDT.
PORTS to contribute audio recordings to the Sounds of Your Park initiative
April 26, 2021
With support from Parks California, PORTS Program now has the equipment to capture high-quality audio recordings of California State Parks and marine protected areas. The recordings will be contributed to the Sounds of Your Park initiative, a project spearheaded by the National Park Service, Parks Canada, the IUCN, and the George Wright Society, among others.
PORTS On-Demand Programs booked for 2020/2021 school year!
April 15, 2021
It's been quite a year since the inception of the global health crisis. Learn how PORTS adapted during COVID-19, created more digital K-12 resources than ever before, booked all live, synchronous distance learning opportunities and get a glimpse into what's in store for 2021/2022!
Inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards with passPORTS
December 4, 2020
Connecting with California State Parks as a child inspired Parker Grand, California State Parks PORTS Program Interpreter, to pursue a career sharing the natural, cultural, and historic resources of our parks. But can we still inspire future generations to preserve our public outdoor spaces during a pandemic?
Climb High and Dive Deep with PORTS
October 23, 2020
Fans of California State Parks can now virtually explore the tops of the tallest trees to the depths of a submarine canyon thanks to a new partnership with Timelooper. Utilizing 360° cameras and three-dimensional (3D), augmented reality (AR) design, the two new apps highlight unique and often inaccessible habitats such as the towering canopy of a coast redwood tree and the ocean floor of a kelp forest. Curious explorers can now access these State Parks treasures from the comfort of their own homes.
PORTS Program Takes Over Lake Tahoe With Virtual Underwater Programs and More
October 16, 2020
Last week, PORTS Program joined the California State Parks Dive Team for their “Total Tahoe Takeover.” Working with Sierra District interpretive staff, PORTS offered multiple livestreamed programs from Emerald Bay, D. L. Bliss, and Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Parks. The week’s grand finale included an hour-long underwater PORTS Home Learning Program watched live by hundreds of viewers tuning in from home.
State Parks Reached Thousands with Virtual Earth Day 2020 Celebration
April 24, 2020
California State Parks celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22, with virtual events that reached more than 135,000 on Facebook, where the virtual events were hosted. Additional posts on Instagram and Twitter promoting the Earth Day events reached an additional 272,000 people. Leveraging the power of social media and the talent of the State Parks interpretive team, the department offered hourly livestream events and prerecorded videos throughout the day with posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.