AUDUBON CANYON RANCH SPOTLIGHTS ITS VOLUNTEER DOCENT TRAINING PROGRAM AT ORIENTATION SESSION SLATED FOR AUGUST 25 AT BOLINAS LAGOON PRESERVE
 
Stinson Beach, CA– Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR), a leader in conservation science, habitat protection and restoration and hands-on environmental education programs for children and adults, today announced that an informational meeting has been scheduled for August 25, 2010, at 10 a.m., to introduce its nature preserve and ACR’s Docent Training Program to prospective volunteers. 
 
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, ACR offers a biennial 23-week training program at its Bolinas Lagoon Preserve that provides adults with a unique opportunity to learn about the natural world from some of the Bay Area’s best biologists and naturalists. The program’s goal is to train and prepare docents to participate in ACR’s Elementary School Environmental Education Program, which brings thousands of Bay Area schoolchildren to the 1,000-acre preserve each year.
 
Participants who attend the June 16 information meeting will have an opportunity to meet members of ACR’s docent community and key members of the ACR staff. Home to one of the West Coast’s oldest and most-studied nesting sites for great egrets and great blue herons, attendees may also join in a guided hike to a heronry overlook for a close-up view into the nesting site which currently hosts 80 active heron and egret nests, many with growing egret chicks.
 
ACR’s Docent Training classes begin in September 2010 and conclude on March 2, 2011. Topics covered include birds, reptiles and amphibians, geology, insects, pond life, local plant life, and teaching techniques for sharing the preserve with the 4th and 5th graders who visit as part of the program.
 
Tuition for the docent training course is $125 which covers the cost of training materials. Scholarships are available and college credit may be earned. Carpools are often arranged for training participants. 
 
ACR’s Bolinas Lagoon Preserve is located 30 miles north of San Francisco on Highway 1, (3 miles north of Stinson Beach).
 
For more information, call 415-868-9244 or email acr@egret.org.
 
 
ABOUT AUDUBON CANYON RANCH
The mission of Audubon Canyon Ranch is to protect the natural resources of its sanctuaries while fostering an understanding and appreciation of these environments. Through ACR's preservation, education, and research programs, ACR educates children and adults, promotes ecological literacy that is grounded in direct experience, and conducts research and restoration that advances conservation science.
 
Audubon Canyon Ranch Preserves include the Cypress Grove Research Center on Tomales Bay, the 535-acre Bouverie Preserve in Sonoma’s Valley of the Moon near Glen Ellen and the 1,000-acre Bolinas Lagoon Preserve near Stinson Beach, which is home to one of the San Francisco Bay Area's most studied Great Egret and Great Blue Heron nesting sites.
 
Recently ACR announced an agreement with Jim and Shirley Modini to acquire the 1,725-acre Modini Ranch property, located in the Mayacamas Mountains in Sonoma County.
 
ACR is an independent non-profit organization with 501(c)3 status and has received Charity Navigator’s highest rating, 4 Stars. ACR is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society.
 
Audubon Canyon Ranch programs are made possible thanks to the contribution of thousands of hours of volunteer service, and donations from caring individuals, foundations and businesses. For more information, call 415-868-9244, email acr@egret.org or visit www.egret.org.