Coyote Hills is a beautiful piece of land on the East Bay
Shoreline with much to teach, and every year thousands of school children, as
well as adults, come to this East Bay Regional Park to learn about the two most
important aspects of this site: its natural history and its role in the lives
of the first East Bay inhabitants, the Ohlone.
The docent program at Coyote Hills is the backbone of the
park’s mission to perpetuate respect for the land and the people who called it
home long before Europeans settled in the East Bay. Through activities and
talks, volunteer docents lead programs that result, it is hoped, to an
appreciation of what Coyote Hills means both in terms of understanding the
local ecosystem, and its role in the lives of native peoples.
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Student Aide Saatvika Deshpande
demonstrates the ‘Cart of Curiousities’
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Throughout the year, docents, trained representatives of the
park district, work with school kids in what are called ‘immersions.’ Five
stations are set up around the visitor center where docents demonstrate Ohlone
games, such as stick and hoop, staves, and crafts like string making.
Starting April 5 and running every Thursday for four weeks from
10 a.m. to 12 noon, volunteers can participate in a training that educates them
in the history and mission of the parks, as well as the particular activities
that they will lead. Additionally, docents will learn how to interact with
large groups and understand different learning styles in order to effectively
interact with visiting classes. For people who have teaching experience, the
transition to docent is easy, but for those who have never had the experience
of being in front of a group, the docent training is a great way to learn a
valuable skill.
Docents also learn how to combine a variety of teaching
styles that engage kids who learn best by listening, and kids who learn best by
doing. Many people who go through the program find that it is great training
for other teaching situations they might encounter if they continue in natural
history and cultural learning programs elsewhere. Some docents have gone on to
be naturalists with the park district
Naturalists in the park system are the paid employees who
develop the programs for the park system and lead the major nature walks and
events, while docents take the information and curricula developed by the
naturalists and present it, often in their own unique style, to visitors and
school kids.
Docents can choose from a variety of activities. It might be
sitting with a display of caterpillars munching milkweed at the entrance to the
butterfly vivarium, arranging a display of furs and bones of local mammals at
the visitor center, or teaching animal tracking. It also might be leading games
and activities on the immersion days, where efficient docents will encourage
chaperoning parents to get involved in the fun!
Activities go on all year long, generally slowing in the
winter; however, in dry warm winters like this one, the daily visitor count can
exceed two thousand. There’s always something going on. A popular attraction is
Kristina’s Cart of Curiosities, featuring rotating displays ranging from natural
history examples including skulls (replicas), furs, and plant specimens, to Ohlone
artifacts such as pottery, tools, and arrowheads. These objects are intended to
rouse kids’ curiosities and spark questions, which the docents are happy to
answer.
Some of the docents have been with the program for years,
and though East Bay Regional Park Districts’ (EBPRD) docent program has existed
for around 35 years, the twelve-year-old Coyote Hills program has active volunteers
who came on board at the beginning. For those docents who put in 25 hours or more
during the year there is an annual volunteer dinner; docents also receive a
parking pass that exempts them from the Coyote Hills $5 parking fee. There is
ongoing training, as well as enrichment programs, and occasional field trips.
Recently Coyote Hills docents were invited by the docents of the Oakland museum
to have a museum tour for free.
Coyote Hills turns 50 this year and is perhaps best-known as
the site of the annual Gathering of the Ohlone, a tradition begun many years
ago by EBRPD Cultural Resource Specialist, Bev Ortiz. It is a time to remember
cultural ways and have some fun, but it is also an opportunity to reflect on
the close bond between the land and its ancient inhabitants. One of the
landmark events of the year, the Gathering is open to all docents who wish to
volunteer. In fact, docents are welcome to help out at any event, even at other
park sites, with the appropriate training, though the April docent training is
good for Coyote Hills alone.
Park Naturalist Kristina Parkison was herself a docent at
the Long Marine Lab in Santa Cruz some years ago. There, after graduating
college and before entering the Peace Corps, she learned to lead groups and
deliver prepared information. “I had had no experience teaching, but being a
docent prepared me for talking to groups and delivering informational talks,”
she says.
Learning about Ohlone culture is part off the curriculum for
local elementary schools and the kids coming through the park for the cultural
programs are usually third and fourth graders. Kindergarteners through second
graders typically fill out the nature walks. Regardless of age, the park offers
both a refreshing natural experience and an opportunity to learn.
Kristina Parkison and her co-workers Francis Mendoza and
Dino Labiste lead the trainings, which consist of both written materials and
hands-on experience. Is there anything else, beside experience, satisfaction,
and knowledge that a docent can expect to gain? Says Parkison with a smile:
“People do get a special vest.”
Coyote Hills Docent Training
Thursdays, Apr 5 through Apr 26
10 a.m. – 12 noon
Coyote Hills Visitor Center
8000 Patterson Ranch Rd
For more information: (510) 544-3213, or email Docents.Coyotehills@ebparks.org
http://www.ebparks.org/about/getinvolved/volunteer/docent
Free (trainees will also receive passes for free parking)
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