Lake Waccamaw State Park

Students will learn about the Carolina Bays, "one of the greatest geological mysteries of the eastern United States" when they visit Lake Waccamaw State Park.

Preview your trip on the web: Lake Waccamaw State Park

Learn more

• American Field Guide A collection of online videos that explore many aspects of America's wilderness from animals to earth and space to public policy.
• 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.
• Lesson plan: The case of the disappearing pitcher plants This lesson addresses the cause and effect relationship between human interaction and a North Carolina endangered plant species. A role-playing scenario allows students to view the situation from a variety of positions and to collectively arrive at a solution to the problem.

Related pages

• Jockey's Ridge State Park: Experience a world of the shifting sands and a barren, desert environment as well as an estuarine environment of the tidal waters of the Roanoke Sound at Jockey's Ridge State Park in Nags Head, North Carolina.
• Catawba Science Center: Students will enjoy visiting the Catawba Science Center, a hands-on museum, where learning is fun!
• Singletary Lake State Park: The Singletary Lake program introduces students to the unique geology of Carolina bays.

Related topics

• Learn more about Columbus County, North Carolina, animals, aquatic life, biology, ecology, ecosystems, geology, habitat, natural history, plants, science, state parks, and wildlife.

Legal

Lake Waccamaw is one of the most unique bodies of water in the world. It has species of animals found nowhere else on the planet, rare plants, and endangered animals. It also has one of the greatest geological mysteries of the eastern United States - the phenomenon of Carolina bays. Limestone bluffs along the north shore neutralize Lake Waccamaw’s water, making the lake different from any other Carolina bay.

Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about Lake Waccamaw State Park. Educational materials about the park have been developed for grades 6-8 and are correlated to North Carolina’s competency-based curriculum in science, social studies, mathematics and English/language arts. The Lake Waccamaw program introduces students to the unique ecosystem of this particular Carolina bay, focusing on water chemistry and the lake’s diversity of aquatic life. 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 experience) 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 Lake Waccamaw State Park is “Lake Waccamaw - One of a Kind” for grades 4-8.

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.

Call (910) 646-4748 or e-mail lake.waccamaw@ncmail.net to set up a visit.

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