Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Students will identify the parts of a plant important for pollination, describe how
pollinators need plants, how plants need pollinators, and how we can help!

April 11, 2016

Dear Parents,
On Monday, April 25th, our class will be taking a field trip to the Birmingham
Botanical Gardens to complete a pollination observation to serve as a
concluding activity for our science unit on plants. Students will be exploring
the gardens, observing wildlife, and enjoying a picnic lunch by Sonat Lake.
Our class will leave Trace Crossings at 9:00 on the morning of April 25th. We
will return to school at 1:00 that afternoon. Students should wear their field
trip t-shirts, long pants, socks, and closed-toe shoes, as we will be exploring
outdoors. Students should bring a sack lunch and drink, or order a sack lunch
from the cafeteria. As always, no fast food is allowed, as to avoid competing
with Hoover City Schools. Snack will come from home or from the mornings
breakfast. It will be served at 2:00.
The trip will cost each student $7. While the gardens visit is free, the
students must pay for their bus ride. This money should be paid (by either
cash or check) to Miss Trucks no later than Monday, April 18 th. Checks can be
made out to Trace Crossings Elementary School.
Our class will need two parents to volunteer as chaperones on this trip. The
chaperones will need to meet us in the classroom no later than 8:45 on the
morning of April 25th. The chaperones will ride with us on the bus, and lead a
group of students around the gardens. There is no cost for a chaperone to
attend, but they must bring their own lunch, and they must still pay for their
child to ride the bus.
Our class would also greatly appreciate any picnic blankets that could be
sent in before Monday, April 25th, as we will need them to enjoy our lunch.
They will be returned home with your child that afternoon.
Please fill out the form below, attach a payment, and return it to Miss Trucks
no later than Monday, April 18th. Medical forms will go home then. Feel free
to call or email with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Emily Trucks
Third Grade Teacher
_____________________________________________________________

Students Name _______________________________

Will attend
have attached cash
Will not attend
attached a check

Will bring a

sack lunch

Will buy a lunch

I have

I would like to be contacted about chaperoning

send a picnic blanket
Parent Signature ______________________________

I will

Date _______________

Field Trip Preparation

Content
Students will be learning about the process of pollination in the fourth lesson
of our plant unit. Students will know, by the end of the fourth lesson, the
purpose of pollen, the purpose of pollinators, and the sequence of steps in
the process of pollination. Students will also understand, by the end of the
lesson, the necessity of preserving the pollinators in our world. Students
will, thus, be able to actively participate in the pollination observation
scheduled to take place at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens as the unit
comes to a close.
Experience
The students will, in the fourth lesson of the plant unit, participate in a
pollination simulation. This simulation will require them to function as a
pollinator in transferring pollen from one flower to another in the butcherpaper class garden. The students should be able to connect this experience to
what is happening in nature during the observation set to take place.
Virtual Tour
On Friday, April 22nd, Ms. Trucks will take the students on a virtual tour of
the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, as to help them know what to expect on
Mondays trip. The virtual tour can be found via the link below.
http://www.alabama360.com/bhambotanical/Tourviewer_bhambotanical.html

Rules
The students, being in third grade, should be knowledgeable of all field trip
rules and the reasons they have been put in place. Ms. Trucks will review
these rules the Friday before the field trip is set to take place ensuring that
all students know to come dressed appropriately for the trip, and again the
morning of the field trip to ensure that the rules are fully understood. The
students will be reminded of bus rules, as well. Failure to comply with the
rules set by the school and the school system will result in a notice home to
the parent of the child(ren) responsible for the incident that has occurred.
Garden rules will be shared by the guide once the class arrives at the
Botanical Gardens. Failure to comply with these rules will also result in a
notice sent home.

Field Trip Safety Plan

Emergency Procedures
If an emergency is to occur, the procedures below should be followed.
At School
The school nurse should be notified, and 911 should be called as is
necessary. Parents should be notified immediately. Chaperones will
stay in the classroom with other students as the teacher stays with the
affected student.
On the Bus
The bus driver should pull over as soon as possible. The teacher
should remain with the affected student, while a chaperone calls 911
as is necessary. Should a student need to be transported to a hospital
by ambulance, the teacher will go with the student and allow the bus
driver and chaperones to get the other students back to Trace
Crossings. The school should be notified once the situation is handled
for the time being, as administration will call parents.
At the Botanical Gardens
The teacher or chaperone in charge will remain with the affected
student while a group guide (or in a pinch, another student) calls 911
as is necessary. Once 911 is called, Ms. Trucks should be notified. Ms.
Trucks will remain with the student while a chaperone contacts the
school, where administration will notify parents. Should a student

have to be transported to a hospital by ambulance, Ms. Trucks will

ride with them, allowing the bus driver and chaperones to get the
other students back to school.
Minor Illness
Should a student become ill at any point on the trip, with the illness not
serious enough to be considered an emergency, they will be escorted to the
Garden Center, where their parents will be contacted and transportation back
to school will be arranged.

Minor Injury
Ms. Trucks and each chaperone are certified in first aid. Ms. Trucks and each
chaperone will have a first aid kit on their person at all times. Each kit will
contain all supplies necessary to handle minor injuries that are not
considered to be emergencies. Should more supplies be needed, the affected
student will be taken to the Garden Center for further assistance.
Medications
While none of the students are on medication that they receive at school
each day, Ms. Trucks is a licensed medication administrator. Students
recovering from illness who are in need of medication may see Ms. Trucks
at the time designated by their physician to receive their medication. Ms.
Trucks will have these on her person, along with administration instructions
from the physician and school nurse.
Medical Forms
All medical forms will be sent home one week prior to the field trip to be
filled out by parents. Ms. Trucks will have copies of all medical forms and
contact information (whether given before the field trip or always kept in the
nurses office) on her person at all times.

Field Trip Management Plan

Attire
Students will wear their Trace Crossings field trip t-shirts, long pants, socks,
and closed-toe shoes, as we will be exploring outdoors. This will be
communicated to parents through the parent letter sent home two weeks
prior to the event, as well as to students the day before.
Groups
The students will be accompanied on this trip by Ms. Trucks and two
chaperones: Ms. Blankenship and Mrs. Owen. The first portion of the trip
will be guided by a gardens docent, and all students and chaperones will
remain in one group. The students will be split among the chaperones during
the second portion of the trip: the scavenger hunt. Ms. Trucks will remain
with Connor, who has Down syndrome, and the four boys who act up the
most in class. This is in an effort to make the chaperones days as simple as
possible.
Chaperone to Student Ratio: 1 to 5.5
Group 1
Miss Blankenship

Group 2
Mrs. Owen

Group 3
Ms. Trucks

Aiden Blankenship
Christopher Oliveira
Sean Pitts
Caleb Stone
Sawyer Thomas
Benjamin Vega-Diaz

Kindal Cummings
Maybeli Lopez
Jessie Ortiz-Hernandez
Ashley Ordonez
Allie Owen
Lillian Peterson
Sydney Reznicek

Judah Gibbs
Connor Sawyer
Parker Sills
ArMari Towns

Field Trip Rules

To be shared by Ms. Trucks

Have respect for all adults and peers while on the field trip.
Follow all classroom rules as they apply to the field trip destination.
Follow all rules put in place by the field trip facilitator
Do not stray from the group.

 Say thank you when you leave.

Bus Rules
To be shared by Ms. Trucks and the bus driver

Stay seated, facing forward, at all times.

Do not open emergency exits unless there is an emergency.
If there is an emergency, alert an adult immediately.
Say thank you when you get off of the bus.

Garden Rules
To be shared by the volunteer docent
Always stay on paths, paved surfaces and turf areas.
Enjoy viewing the plants, structures, animals, and the natural beauty in the
gardens and avoid touching or damaging the property.
Please refrain from climbing on shrubs, plants, trees, fences, walls, boulders
and other garden features.
Do not feed any wild or domesticated animals, including ducks, geese and
fish.
Help keep the gardens clean: please do not litter.
Children under the age of twelve must be accompanied and watched by an
adult at all times.
Bodies of water are for viewing; please do not wade, fish, bathe, boat, ice
skate or throw objects, including coins.

Field Trip Lunch and Snack Plan

Lunch
Students will bring a sack lunch from home, unless they have chosen to
order a sack lunch from the lunchroom. Ms. Blankenship, Mrs. Owen, and

Ms. Trucks will be required to bring their own lunch. As always, no

restaurant food is allowed as to avoid competing with the school cafeteria.
Lunches and drinks will be kept in coolers at the Garden Center until it is
time to eat by Sonat Lake at 11:45. Students will take a note home
requesting picnic blankets two weeks prior to the field trip. Ms. Trucks will
have picnic blankets with her for Ms. Blankenship and Mrs. Owen to spread
out on the bank of Sonat Lake while she travels to the Garden Center to get
coolers. When lunch is finished at 12:30, all field trip attendees will make
their way back to the buses to return to school.
Snack
Snack will be brought from home or saved from the days school breakfast
that morning. It will be eaten in the classroom at 2:00, as it is every day.

Field Trip Day Schedule

Breakfast and Morning Work

7:30 to 8:00

Morning Meeting
Restroom Break

8:00 to 8:30
8:30 to 8:40

Review of the Rules

8:40 to 8:45

Chaperone Introduction

8:45 to 8:50

Walk to Front and Load Buses

8:50 to 9:00

Departure from Trace Crossings

Travel Time

9:00
9:00 to 9:25

Arrival at the Botanical Gardens

Guide Introduction

9:25
9:25 to 9:30

Pollination Observation

9:30 to 10:30

Gardens Scavenger Hunt

10:30 to 11:30

Travel to Sonat Lake

11:30 to 11:45

Lunch

11:45 to 12:30

Walk to Front and Load Buses

12:30 to 12:35

Departure from the Botanical Gardens

Travel Time
Arrival at Trace Crossings

12:35
12:35 to 1:00
1:00

Restroom Break

1:00 to 1:10

Discussion of Trip and Review

1:10 to 1:45

Read Aloud
Snack

1:45 to 2:00
2:00 to 2:15

Pack Up and Dismissal

2:15 to 2:30

Field Trip Contact Information and Meeting Sites

Phone Numbers to Know

Emergency Services
911
Birmingham Botanical Gardens
(205) 414-3950
Trace Crossings Elementary School
(205) 439-2700
Hoover City Schools Transportation Services
(205) 439-1120
Ms. Trucks
(205) 915-4062
Ms. Blankenship
(205) 914-0221
Mrs. Owen
(205) 999-3410
Meeting Sites
If you are to get separated from the group at school, please go to the main
office and ask them to call Ms. Trucks.
If you are to get separated from the group at the gardens, please go to the
Garden Center and ask them to call our group guide or Ms. Trucks.

Name __________________

Birmingham
Botanical Gardens
T HE BI RMI NGH AM

Record yourBOTANICAL
thoughts in GARDENS
the boxes below.
& GLASSHOUSES
an independent educational charity

I would like to learn

Gardens Scavenger Hunt!

Lets go on a Scavenger Hunt! But remember - dont pick any flowers or
leaves on the plants! Instead, look carefully on the woodland floor, on
paths and on the ground to see if you can find:

Something smooth
Something hard
Something soft
The best thing
I learned
Something light
A pine cone
A pine needle
Something interesting
Something green
Something brown
A leaf with lots of veins
prickly leaf
would like toA know
more
Something nibbled
Something tiny
An evergreen leaf
An interesting shape
A smooth, shiny leaf
A feather
A seed

was

about

Now create an interesting face (creature or human), using the materials

you have found. Please take a photo of your art work and send it to us!
Have fun!
Plants and People Partners for Life

Birmingham Botanical Gardens & Glasshouses

An Independent Educational Charity

Thank you for having us,

Birmingham Botanical Gardens!

Miss Truckss Third Grade Class