Sand Crabs scurrying across the beach, vibrant murals displaying hispanic heritage. Students experience these enriching moments as parts of many class’s curriculum.

The AP Environmental Science class traveled to Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica on Oct. 3.

“We have done a lot of analysis of trends of our environment in class, so this was a chance for us to actually see it.” Junior Tess Olcott said

The class spent the two first periods of the day working with a program called LiMPETS (Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students).

The program’s mission is to monitor the national marine sanctuaries and perform habitat assessments, while educating and spreading awareness to students, said science teacher, Andrew Willats.

Senior Sarah Ching said that the trip was worth missing her other classes.

“I’m so glad I went on this trip, it was such an enriching experience,” Ching said, “Collecting the data and seeing different trends in the Sand Crab population definitely helped me grasp the concepts.”

The class took samples from the beach of the large population of Sand Crabs, whoich according to Willats, take up 83 percent of the beach’s biomass. The samples will assist the students and LiMPETS in observing the changing conditions of the beach and assist  in the practice of scientific techniques.

The data will also be used to help adjust California’s Marine State Policies.

Sixty  students from Willats’s two classes traveled to the beach and most  were excited for the opportunity to travel and study outside of the classroom,

“It’s very rare to be able to experience something so hands on like this,” Olcott said “It’s cool to see what environmental science looks like in the real world.”

Willats is a fan of field trips, especially for environmental science, which emphasises field research, understanding of the local environment and the parts students can play in affecting their world.

“Field ecology is hard to do in a classroom and so this trip is very helpful and useful,” said Willats.

Spanish teacher Virginia Leskowski also appreciates field trips and has taken her classes on them almost every year. Her trips include visiting the Oakland Museum and San Francisco Mural Walk as well as  grabbing a meal at authentic restaurants.

Last year she took her Spanish III class to the Unity Council Center in Oakland to serve the elderly, join them for lunch and of course  and use their Spanish skills to talk with the residents.

“The trip gives students ideas of how they may use Spanish nearby and also who lives in their community,” Leskowski said. “It is also great for a connection between older and younger people.”