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.

Preview your trip on the web: Lake James 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.
• Vital Water Graphics Graphics, maps, and other illustrations show the status of the world's fresh water supply. The site illustrates the causes, effects, trends and threats facing our water sources, with examples of areas of major concern and future scenarios for the use and management of fresh, coastal and marine waters.
• EarthPulse Explore animated ecosystems and consider the pressures on our environment and other ecological and conservation issues. Each feature includes an interactive virtual world addressing conservation issues related to oceans, fresh water, living creatures, and more.
• Lesson plan: Observing the water cycle Initially, students will observe a demonstration of the water cycle and apply the information gained through the demonstration. Then students will measure and graph rainfall for two weeks.
• Lesson plan: Can we keep the lake clean? This lesson introduces students to the water cycle by having them help draw a picture of a lake ecosystem, adding human impacts that affect water quality.
• 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.

Related pages

• South Mountains State Park: One of the state's most rugged parks, South Mountains State Park offers a number of activities. Rangers are available to teach students about the mountain watershed and the importance of water stewardship.
• 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.
• 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.

Related topics

• Learn more about Burke County, Canada geese, Eastern box turtle, Gray Fox, Green Herons, McDowell County, Mink, North Carolina, amphibians, belted kingfisher, biology and life science, birds, deer, eastern red-spotted newts, environmental science, flying squirrels, hawks, mallards, mammals, muskrats, natural history, northern red salamanders, owls, pileated woodpeckers, rabbits, red fox, reptiles, science, state parks, and treefrogs.

Legal

Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about Lake James State Park. To arrange a special exploration of the park for your group or class, contact the park office at (828) 652-5047. Educational materials about Lake James State 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 James program introduces students to the lakeshore environment, focusing on the plants and animals that live there. 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 James State Park is “Aquatic Critters” 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.

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