Digital tools to enhance your learning experience
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve is excited to bring to students, parents, and teachers a variety of remote learning opportunities to learn more about the Tijuana Estuary and other coastal wetlands.
PORTS Program
Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students
Grades 3-5 Teachers: Sign up for our virtual "Salt Marsh Secrets" PORTS program at Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. Students will explore salt marsh plants and animals through observation, movement, and nature journaling activities.
Apps to use at the Reserve
Adventure Lab
Explore the world around you with virtual geocaching
Grades 5 and up
Explore the world around you in a whole new way with [our] Geocaching Adventure Lab® outdoor scavenger hunt!” Take a short stroll through this native plant garden to learn about how coastal sage scrub plants have adapted to this very dry climate alongside the California Native Americans of this region, the Kumeyaay. Learn about how these plants were used traditionally by the Kumeyaay and other cultures who have resided here.
Border Field State Park: Divided Together
Uncover border stories
Grades 9 and up
The Divided Together podcast and associated Border Field State Park self-guided tour app, reveals topics that involve separation and unification related to the border featuring people with direct experience and knowledge. The 2021 series highlights the impacts the border has had on the Kumeyaay Native Americans and their land, how scientists and geographers have collaborated across the border, the various land use practices the Kumeyaay have used throughout time, and human rights along the border. The self-guided tour has excerpts of each episode and is geopositioned around the group picnic area of Border Field, with a beautiful view of the ocean and Mexico’s Coronado Islands.
Use the web app to view the app remotely.
Activities for the classroom
Grades 4-6
Wetland Neighbors is a booklet designed to help students understand why wetlands of the Californias are so important for people, plants, and animals.
En Espanol
Grades 6-12
Watch an animation about how estuaries filter runoff from land.
Grade 9-12
Be a System-wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) data detective!
Grades 6-12
Find out how climate change impacts estuaries and how to help.