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Carmel Lagoon Field Trip, March 11th
, 2013
Spedding/Welsh Grade 5 The International School of Monterey

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STOP 1: Parking lot, interpretive signs, view of north side of lagoon
1. Read the interpretive signs in the parking lot. Read the interpretive signs near the bathrooms. Copies of the signs
are below.
DISCUSS: What do the signs tell us about . . .
why a healthy lagoon is important?
how the lagoon is like a sponge?
how the beach is formed?
how the lagoon changes from season to season?
the endangered species that live in the Carmel River?
WALK to the lagoon (just past the signs), and walk along the bank to the left (north). Find a place to sit together.
Once your group is settled, close your eyes and LISTEN for about 60 seconds. Listen CAREFULLY. Listen for things that are
close, and listen for sounds that are further away. Listen for sounds that are natural, and listen for sounds that are human
produced.
After a minute, DISCUSS your observations: What kinds of things did you hear? Describe them?
Now, quietly LOOK around the lagoon in front of you. Do this without speaking. LOOK carefully. Notice details.
After a minute, DISCUSS what you observed.

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* * * *
DISCUSS/OBSERVE: What kinds of plants and animals live in this part of the lagoon? What do you observe?
* * * *
The picture below was taken last weekend. What do you suppose is the purpose of these sand bags. Why are they piled so
high?
Sand bags on the end of a street in a neighborhood that is beside the lagoon.
DISCUSS: What kinds of things cause the level of the lagoon to rise and lower during the year?
DISCUSS: How do we balance the needs of people who live in this area with the needs of the environment? What would you
do if you were in charge of this area?
* * * *
DISCUSS/WRITE (in Inquiry Journal)
1. WHAT DID YOU LEARN? Based upon your discussions and observations at this STOP, list three things that you
learned.
2. QUESTIONS: Make a list of the questions you still have about this place.

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STOP 2: Along bank of the lagoon.
WALK south along the shore of the lagoon. Find a place to sit together.
Once your group is settled, close your eyes and LISTEN for 60 seconds. Listen CAREFULLY. Listen for things that are close,
and listen for sounds that are further away. Listen for sounds that are natural, and listen for sounds that are human
produced.
After a minute, DISCUSS your observations: What kinds of things did you hear? Describe them?
Now, quietly LOOK around the lagoon in front of you. Do this without speaking. LOOK carefully. Notice details.
After a minute, DISCUSS what you observed.
* * * *
The photographs below were taken last year in April.
DISCUSS: How is the level of the lagoon last year different from what you observe this year? How do you explain the
change? What evidence can you see to support your ideas?
Odie!

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OBSERVE/COLLECT: Notice the kinds of things that are lying around the shore of the lagoon. Collect samples. Sort them by
type. Share your collection.
DISCUSS: Where do these things come from? How did they get here? Were they washed down by the river, or were they
tossed up from the sea? What do you think? What is your evidence?
* * * *
OBSERVE/DISCUSS:
Taste the water. Is it fresh or salty? How do you explain it?
Imagine that you are a steelhead having just entered the lagoon.
Where are you going?
How do you know where to go?
What do you want to accomplish?
How is your body changing? Why is it changing?
What is food for a steelhead trout in the Carmel River? What do they eat?
* * * *
OBSERVE/DISCUSS: What kinds of living things live in and around the lagoon? What do you observe?
DISCUSS: Steelhead trout feed on small marine invertebrates (without a backbone) such as the ones below. The number of
steelhead trout is related to the population of these invertebrates.

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DISCUSS/WRITE (in Inquiry Journal)
1. WHAT DID YOU LEARN? Based upon your discussions and observations at this STOP, list three things that you
learned.
2. QUESTIONS: Make a list of the questions you still have about this place.

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STOP 3: Spillway
DISCUSS/OBSERVE: The picture of the spillway below was taken last year in April. The water in the lagoon was very high,
but the lagoon was NOT open to the sea.
What might explain the difference in the lagoon last year versus this year? How might these changes affect the plants and
animals that live in the lagoon?
OBSERVE/DISCUSS: Notice the difference in the elevation of the lagoon and the sea? Which is higher? Why might they be
different? What causes the lagoon to be higher than the sea?
Why might the differences in elevation pose a challenge for the steelhead migration?
* * * *
DISCUSS: Think about what’s going on underground. Is the groundwater beneath you salty or fresh? Why do you think so?
What about the groundwater directly beneath the lagoon? Is it salty or fresh? Why do you think so?
What prevents the saltwater from soaking into the soil and the aquifers? What are your ideas?
* * * *
DISCUSS/WRITE (in Inquiry Journal)
1. WHAT DID YOU LEARN? Based upon your discussions and observations at this STOP, list three things that you
learned.
2. QUESTIONS: Make a list of the questions you still have about this place.

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STOP 4: Along south trail, overview of the lagoon
DISCUSS/OBSERVE: The picture at the top was taken last year. The picture below was taken last weekend. How are they
similar? How are they different? How do you explain the differences?
Photograph was taken in April of last year.
Photograph was taken last weekend.
How does the flowing of water out of the lagoon and into the sea affect the plants and animals living here? If you were a
plant or animal living in the lagoon, how might the loss of water affect you? Is it a good thing, a bad thing, or both.

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DISCUSS/OBSERVE: Note the two maps below. The top map predicts the highest levels of the river every 10 years. The
lower map predicts the highest water levels every 100 years.
DISCUSS/OBSERVE: What are the differences between these two pictures? What are the pros and cons of buying a house
near the lagoon? How might you protect your house from flooding?
DISCUSS/OBSERVE: How do we balance the needs of the environment with the needs of the people living on the lagoon?
Who should decide when the lagoon should be opened to the sea: the homeowners whose homes are right next to the
lagoon, the steelhead fishermen, or the environmentalists? What’s your opinion?
* * * *

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OBSERVE Notice the wildflowers around you.
DISCUSS: What do you think has caused them to bloom? Hours of daylight? Warmer temperatures? Rain? What do you
think?
* * * *
DISCUSS/OBSERVE: Notice how the water comes into the lagoon? Which channel leads to the Carmel River?
Wouldn’t you love to know how many steelhead are in the lagoon right now? Do you suppose they’re swimming upstream
to spawn, or downstream to the sea?
MORE STEELHEAD QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What percent of the steelhead babies born in the upper watershed actually make it to the sea?
What do you suppose are their biggest threats?
What percent of them actually return to the mouth of the river wanting to migrate upstream?
And what percent do you suppose actually make it upstream to spawn?
* * * *
DISCUSS/WRITE (in Inquiry Journal)
1. WHAT DID YOU LEARN? Based upon your discussions and observations at this STOP, list three things that you
learned.
2. QUESTIONS: Make a list of the questions you still have about this place.

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STOP 5: Portola Crespi Cross Monument
Gather around the cross and read the following about the historical marker.
This cross is a replica of a cross erected on December 10, 1769 by members of the Portola expedition - the first Spanish
expedition to explore California by land.
Gaspar de Portola led a group of 64 explorers, amongst them 27 soldiers, 15 Indians from Baja California and two Catholic
monks, fathers Crespi and Gomez. Main goal of the expedition was to find a way to Monterey Bay, discovered by sea in 1602 by
Sebastian Vizcaino.
The party traveled as far as the San Francisco bay but failed to recognize Monterey and - even more important - failed to
connect with their supply ship "San Jose" which, evidently, was lost at sea.
Before they decided to return to San Diego, the famished members of the expedition erected two crosses to signal their missing
supply vessel; one on a pool near Monterey Bay, the other one at this location.
After returning to San Diego, Portola wrote the Queen of Spain that "...if Russia wants to have California, Spain should let her
have it..." Nevertheless, only a year later, Portola led a second expedition, this time recognized Monterey Bay, connected with
the supply ships under Father Junipero Serra's command and founded Monterey as the first capital of California.
* * * *
DISCUSS/WRITE (in Inquiry Journal)
1. WHAT DID YOU LEARN? Based upon your discussions and observations at this STOP, list three things that you
learned.
2. QUESTIONS: Make a list of the questions you still have about this place.
* * * *
Return to the lagoon the same way you came.

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STOP 6: Beach between sea and lagoon
OBSERVE/DISCUSS: Describe the shape of the beach here. How is it different that other beaches you’ve visited?
Why do you suppose that you NEVER see people swimming in the water here? What would be dangerous about swimming
here?
Look at the map of the sea bottom below. Find Carmel.
If you were to drain the water from the ocean here, what would you notice on the sea bottom?
How does the shape of the beach reflect what’s going on underwater?
OBSERVE/DISCUSS: Notice the sand here. Look at it carefully. Are the sand grains large or small, compared to other
beaches you’ve visited? Is it easy to walk in the sand in this place, or difficult? Why?
It is difficult to walk the beach here, and REALLY difficult to climb out of the water where it is soft, wet, and steep! You
often see divers crawling out of the ocean like turtles!
* * * *

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DISCUSS/OBSERVE: Look over the pictures below. How are they related to conditions at the Carmel River lagoon? What
do they tell us about what might happen during drought?
DISCUSS/WRITE (in Inquiry Journal)
1. WHAT DID YOU LEARN? Based upon your discussions and observations at this STOP, list three things that you
learned.
2. QUESTIONS: Make a list of the questions you still have about this place.