The Education & Outreach department works to educate residents and visitors on how to keep Morro Bay clean and healthy for people and wildlife. Read below to learn more about our various education and outreach opportunities.
Nature Center
The Estuary Program Nature Center brings in over 15,000 visitors every year! Current exhibits include information on estuary ecosystems and wildlife, climate, and more. There is a kid’s corner with coloring pages and other activities, as well as a display of brochures related to the Morro Bay estuary. The Nature Center also has terrific birds-eye views of the estuary, sand spit, and Morro Rock.
The Nature Center is located upstairs at 601 Embarcadero in Morro Bay, and is open whenever the building is open (usually, every day from 11:00am-5:00pm). Admission is free.
Field Trips and Classroom Visits
The Estuary Program offers free field trips for K-12 students, as well as college and adult groups. Field trips are two hours long and customized to meet the needs of your group. Topics can include estuaries, watersheds, local ecology, and more.
Can’t make it to Morro Bay for a field trip? We also offer free classroom visits within SLO County! Much like field trips, our classroom visits can be adapted to meet the needs of your class.
Learn more about both of these opportunities on our field trips webpage.
Events
Estuary Program staff host and attend a variety of events throughout the year, including science talks, farmer’s markets, community events, and more. To see what events are coming up, see our calendar at mbnep.org/events or visit our Eventbrite page.
Social Media, Blogs, and Newsletters
There are plenty of ways to stay in touch virtually! The Estuary Program posts regular updates to our Instagram and Facebook accounts. Following our accounts means you’ll be one of the first to know about upcoming events, research results, and more.
The Estuary Program publishes blogs about twice a month, with updates on restoration, monitoring, and education efforts. It also features guest blogs from program partners. You can read past blog posts and subscribe to receive new posts directly to your inbox at mbnep.org/blog.
Our quarterly virtual newsletter provides updates on our efforts related to monitoring, restoration, research, education, and more. You can check out previous newsletters and subscribe at mbnep.org/newsletter.
Virtual Library
Learn more about the science behind Estuary Program research in our online library. This resource includes documents such as annual reports, which highlight our major projects for the year, and our triennial State of the Bay environmental report cards. More technical documents on our monitoring and research efforts are also available.