Our Tideline Discovery Program is an opportunity for school groups, scout troops, and other groups of learners to experience the Hudson River first-hand from along the shoreline. The home park for the program is Esopus Meadows Environmental Center in Ulster Park NY, just south of Kingston. interdisciplinary program can also be brought to a riverfront location near you. *Note: Tideline Programs do not involve sailing on the sloop Clearwater. Those interested in sail programs should visit the Sailing Classroom page.*
Spring 2025 Tideline Program applications are open! Learn about this program and reserve your spot below.
About the Program
Explore your river through all the major disciplines, History, Science, Math, ELA, and Music. Our program reaches all learning styles through its hand-on experiential learning. Students will evaluate the health of the river with first-hand interactions with the living environment as they catch, identify, and classify fish and invertebrates. They will predict the future of the river by looking at the historical uses of the river and its role as the birthplace of the environmental movement. Students will connect the ecology, beauty, and environmental challenges of the river to their own lives. They will realize that the river belongs to them.
Each program consists of four learning stations, one elective learning station, an introduction to the local area, lunchtime, music, and moments to reflect on the majesty of our river. Programs can be tailored to your curriculum, from watershed issues to team-building. The Esopus Meadows Preserve has an extensive trail system which can be incorporated into the lesson. Our Tideline Program can accommodate 20-64 students per session.
Sample Program Schedule:
9:30 AM – 9:50AM – The group arrives and is greeted by the Clearwater leader, who discusses safe behavior and the day’s plans, followed by a song or story.
9:50 AM – 12:20PM – Students separate into small activity groups and rotate through their five stations.
12:20 PM – 12:45PM – Lunch break (students are expected to pack their trash back to school).
12:45 PM – 1:30PM – Finish the stations or, a group game, hike, or other complementary activity.
1:30 PM – 2PM – Review and closing message.
2:00 PM Group departure.
Explore Our Learning Stations
Our program is aligned with NYS Learning Standards and integrates science and social studies curriculum.
The learning station format allows us to connect with students in small groups where attention is more easily focused. Learning stations provide hands-on, engaging, and fun opportunities for each child to forge his/her own personal connection with the river.
The following are our learning stations. These stations are used on every field trip program.
Seining– Each small learning group will get an opportunity to help pull the seine net out of the river and gently retrieve whatever we have caught in the net.
Fish Study– Fish adaptations and senses are examined first hand using an aquarium stocked with the “catch of the day” collected by the children during the seining activity.
Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Study– Explore the wonderful world of a drop of water, and learn about the creatures that form the foundation of the “web of life.”
Beachcombing– The tides and currents wash up all sorts of surprises onto our shoreline. This station gives students the opportunity to direct the learning, by finding interesting items along the beach. Many different subjects come up- human uses of the river, pollution issues, invasive species, history, and even pre-history. Students explore the waterfront for clues about their past and future.
The following are elective learning stations we offer to customize your program and better fit your individual curricular needs. When you fill out your scheduling application, be sure to select one elective.
Navigation (K-12, Science/Math) ~ Using Hudson River charts cut into a giant jigsaw puzzle, students piece together a sense of the navigable Hudson and learn how to identify navigational aids and use a hand-held compass.
Rivery Reverie (K-12, ELA) ~ A creative wallow into the murky deep. A guided activity in which students spawn a river poem – with surprising ease…and tidal results.
Music (K-12, Music) ~ Write an environmental parody, learn songs about the natural world, or participate in a traditional sea shanty. Music hath charms to soothe the spirited school student! (Most programs include music in a large group -please let us know what kind of music station you’d like. See above.)
Mechanical Advantage (3-12, Science) ~ This station examines the power of the pulley, and demonstrates the physics of mechanical advantage.
Water Wasting Wingding (3-12, Science/Environmental Ethics) ~ See for yourself how much water you use in one day. After discussing an average family’s daily water usage, two teams form bucket brigades to fill garbage cans with their daily expenditure of water. It’s a race to the finish…now how could you finish with less? (This activity has the potential for getting wet. Be prepared!)
The Un-Nature Trail (K-5, Science) ~ Take a walk in the woods and find what does not belong. Test your memory and observation skills, and begin to see the patterns that do belong in the forest- habitat succession and biodiversity.
Water Chemistry (4-12, Science/Environmental Issues) ~ Water is our most precious resource. Is clear water clean water? Using simple testing equipment, we learn about pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen. How do these factors affect the water quality of the river? When you throw something away, where is away?
Orienteering (4-12, Science/Math/Language Arts) ~ Using mariner’s compasses, clues painted on stationary objects, cooperation and true grit, students will explore Esopus Meadows through an orienteering course. Each coordinate has a clue word that needs to be recorded. At the end of the activity, both teams put their clues together in a language experience that forms a wise environmental quote. An especially good activity for instilling logistical self-reliance and teamwork.
Hudson River School Design (K-12, Art) ~ After a brief lesson on Hudson River School Painters, the students will create on-site landscape designs using a variety of mixed media in the style of the Hudson River School.
*We are capable of creating single-discipline thematic programs. Call the Clearwater office and ask for Eli Schloss (845 265 8080 ext. 7106).
Program Fees
The rates for Tideline programs at Esopus Meadows:
- Up to 24 students: $600
- 25-36 students: $720
- 37-48 students: $830
- 49-64 students: $920
Rates for Tideline programs in other parks:
- Up to 24 students: $720
- 25-36 students, $840
- 37-48 students, $960
- 49-64 students, $1080
Our program is eligible for state aid reimbursement through BOCES. For more information on this program fee discount visit: http://www.pnwboces.org/Environmental/or contact us at 845 265 8080 ext. 7106.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about our Tideline Program, email Tideline Program Director Eli Schloss at eli@clearwater.org.
About Esopus Meadows Preserve
Esopus Meadows Preserve is a Scenic Hudson park located in the village of Ulster Park just south of Kingston, New York. In partnership with Scenic Hudson, Clearwater maintains the park and conducts Clearwater education programs in the 68-acre riverfront preserve. There are four hiking trails leading to vernal pools, stands of White Pine, and a waterfront pavilion accessible only by foot or non-motorized watercraft. This area offers a rich natural history; it is a stopover point for migrating waterfowl and ospreys, a winter habitat for bald eagles, and an important spawning ground for many fish. The historic Esopus Meadows Lighthouse is visible offshore.
Please note: Esopus Meadows Preserve is a carry-in/carry-out facility. Please bring a container to remove all your lunch, garbage, etc.