CORE (Connecting, Observing, Researching Ecosystems)

CORE is Fernbank’s free signature ecology program for low-to-moderate income students in middle and high school. Students visit WildWoods and Fernbank Forest, where they become scientists and ecologists, studying important qualities of ecosystems: the life-sustaining benefits they provide, the interrelationship between healthy ecosystems and healthy communities, and the importance of water quality. Students practice data collection, learn analysis techniques, and conduct biodiversity and water purity surveys. Teachers receive lesson plans and other curricular tools to  support student understanding and retention.