Falls Lake State Park

A diversity of plants and animals can be found at this state park. Students in grades 2-5 will learn about the balance of nature from Park Ranger led programs.

Preview your trip on the web: Falls Lake State Park

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• NatureWorks Learn about animal adaptations, habitats and interdependence or go straight to the facts about North American animals and birds.
• Journey North: A Global Study of Wildlife Migration Be a part of the greater scientific community! Gather data on the migration of animals through the area as they return north and your scientific observations will be recorded for everyone to use.
• Lesson plan: Nature's Checks and Balances This Unit introduces students to several essential understandings. They will learn that plants and animals depend on one another for survival and organisms interact within nature to create a balance. They will also learn that humans can influence and manipulate nature.
• North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission - Wildlife Species and Habitat Information A North Carolina Wildlife Resources site with detailed information about wildlife resources and management in the state. Information about animals such as the wood duck, white-tailed deer, beaver, wild turkey, quail, sea turtles, and predators such as various owls, osprey, black bear, wild boar and the gray fox is found here.
• Lesson plan: Create a wetland scene Students will learn about the different types of freshwater wetlands, and the factors that threaten their health. Finally, they will study specific examples of wetland areas of the U.S. and what is being done to protect them.
• Experience North Carolina's state parks with EELEs An EELE is an Environmental Education Learning Experience -- a site-specific program offered by the North Carolina state parks system. EELEs include pre-visit activities, on-site activities and post-visit activities, but they do not necessarily have to be used in conjunction with a group visit.

Related pages

• Carolina Beach State Park: Developed in the late 1960s, this state park preserves the unique environment along the Intracoastal Waterway. The Venus Flytrap and other plant life, the dunes, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals are all protected in this special place.
• Haw River Festival Learning Celebration: Don't miss this fun and informative festival celebrating the Haw River, its history, and the creatures that live there.
• Lake James State Park: Located in both Burke and McDowell counties, Lake James State Park is a place where students can learn about the animals and plants that inhabit the area.

Related topics

• Learn more about North Carolina, Wake County, amphibians, biology and life science, birds, environment, environmental science, fish, habitat, mammals, plants animals, reptiles, science, and state parks.

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Originally built by the US Army Corps of Engineers to control damaging floods and to supply a source of water for surrounding communities, Falls Lake has become a recreational area. The park also provides educational opportunities for the public.

Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about Falls Lake and its aquatic environment. Educational materials about Falls Lake have been developed for grades 3-5 and are correlated to North Carolina’s competency-based curriculum in science, social studies, mathematics and English/language arts. The Falls Lake program focuses on the food chain. Accompanying the program is a teacher’s booklet and workshop, free of charge to educators.

Each state park and recreation area has an EELE (Environmental education learning experiences) curriculum guide that includes on-site activities, pre- and post-visit activities, student information pages, worksheets, fact sheets, vocabulary, and references. You can receive a free copy of an EELE by attending its corresponding workshop at a park, or you can borrow these guides through interlibrary loan at any public library in North Carolina. The EELE for Falls Lake State Recreation Area is “Guess What’s for Dinner?” for grades 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The North Carolina State Parks website offers a search feature for finding the plants and animals that can be found at each state park. Using the drop-down menus, you can choose a park and either an amphibian, bird, reptile, mammal, fungus, insect, or vascular plant. You can search within each group by family, scientific name, or common name. There are photographs from the state parks and fun facts for some of the species.

To schedule a visit, call (919) 676-1027 or send email to falls.lake@ncmail.net.

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