Field Trip Committee

An important part of the decision of many people to register for a conference is often the variety/quality of the field trips.  Some popular field trips include a field trip on rocks and fossils, a look into aquariums as educational tools, boat trips, snorkeling, marsh trips, bird walks, visit to fish hatcheries, seafood processing plants, etc

Schedule field trips that will interest participants and possibly involve them in activities at the site or nearby.  Scientific and educational tours are encouraged. Schedule trips for a separate day of the conference to avoid overlap with program sessions. Remember to stress "quality'' rather than "quantity" in planning field trips.  For trips that are guaranteed to fill quickly, such as boating field trips, schedule the trip more than once, or try to increase the maximum number of people who can register

The Field Trip Chairperson works out details for the places to visit, such as aquariums, industries, and field sites, that are decided on at the planning meeting. (See the sample Field Trip Questionnarie in the Appendix). Research such details as the maximum number of people that can be accommodated on each tour (which may depend on the capacity of a bus), the price of bus service, bus schedules and locations for pickup and delivery of participants at the conference facility, tentative approval by representatives of facility to be toured, and so on. The Chairperson makes the group reservations that are needed at each tour site, in writing (with copies to the Conference Coordinator). The Chairperson or a committee member should ideally conduct a walk‑through of the tour with a representative of the facility to establish a realistic idea of the tour's duration. Contracts for expenses associated with tours should be discussed with the Conference Coordinator, but try to get the field trip donated at no cost to the conference committee.

A few months after the planning meeting, based on the detailed information the Field Trip Chairperson has provided, establish ticket prices for all the tours. The price of field trips is based on the cost for transportation, admissions, and any other costs to be incurred for visiting a facility or site plus an additional amount to defray conference costs.

Submit to the Conference Coordinator a brief "travel brochure" paragraph about each tour. Keep in mind that this is an advertisement to attract people  to your field trip package. This information will be included in the Pre‑registration Package‑and other conference publicity.

Well before the start of the conference, locate committee members who will accompany each tour to collect tickets, count heads, and so on. Someone must be on hand to guide participants to buses, to answer questions, and to act as troubleshooter for last‑minute adjustments. Ideally, there should be a contact person at the field trip site. The person may be an employee of the site, a volunteer teacher, or someone else who will guide the group around the facility and be familiar with the tour itinerary. Every committee member should have a list of all the tours, contact at the sites, telephone numbers, and other appropriate information.

Arrange to have a field trip committee member on duty in the registration area during the registration hours to answer questions about filed trips.

FIELD TRIPS (for NMEA Conference Cookbook)

For the 1999 Conference in Charleston, S.C., field trips were arranged one year in advance of the conference (the preceding summer).  The advantage of such early planning is that you can reserve popular venues enough in advance that it is unlikely you will be told, "Sorry, we're already booked that day." Because you are "tied" to particular days, and even, to an extent, particular times within those days, you are not allowed the luxury of much flexibility with regard to scheduling.  The disadvantage of such early planning is that the costs quoted may rise and the people you negotiated with may no longer be there when the time comes to implement your plans.  Even though you will give each field trip provider a written agreement of your understanding of all of the arrangements, this agreement may or may not be passed along to your contact's successor and, even if it is given to the "new person," he/she may not fully understand its significance.  Consistent communication is the key to avoiding last‑minute misunderstandings and averting potential disasters; speaking via telephone one year, six months, three months, six weeks, and one week to each of your field trip providers will help to reconfirm the significant details of your agreement with them.

Choosing which field trips to offer can be a bit overwhelming.  We decided to limit our offerings to those trips, which were within one hour's driving distance from the conference center.  We wanted to showcase our freshwater and maritime habitats, providing opportunities for somewhat strenuous activity (such as kayaking), as well as a more leisurely walk‑down‑the‑beach activity level.  Since Charleston can be quite hot and humid in the summer, we also strove to provide a few indoor, air‑conditioned field trip options.  Finally, in addition to the natural history trips we scheduled (in abundance!), we sought out several trips, which would also provide our visitors with information about Charleston's rich cultural heritage.

The Field Trip Confirmation form on the following page was used for each of the field trips provided for the conference.  The information provided is self‑explanatory, with the exception of the tricky "cost" section.  This is where "best guesses" have to be used.  Most of the field trip providers charged on a per person basis, which is then easy enough to use as you compute a per person charge for the trip.  A few required or allowed us to charter the entire trip (these were for some of our boat trips).  The bus company we used for most of our transportation needs charged us, in all cases, a per bus charter rate.  The question then becomes, "How do we compute a per person charge based on a charter fee for an entire bus/boat?”  For the Charleston conference, a best‑guess "reasonable number we can expect to sign up for this trip" number was used, which was about mid‑way between the maximum number of participants allowed for that trip and the minimum number below which the trip could not afford to be provided.  For example, let's say we had a $400 boat charter trip, with a $330 bus transportation fee, and a 40 person maximum participation.  We would rather arbitrarily decide that 25 people could be, expected to register for this trip, so we would divide the $400 boat fee by 25, to equal a fee of $16 per person.  The $330 bus fee would also be divided by 25 people, to equal a charge of $14 (always round up!) per person.  We would then charge $30 per person for this program.  If more than 25 people register for this program, you have a profit, which could be used to offset another program which may be under‑registered by a few people.  After determining the charge per person for each trip, we rounded all amounts to the nearest $5.00, just to keep things simpler (i.e., a $32 trip was rounded to $30 per person; a $33 trip was rounded to $35 per person).

NATIONAL MARINE EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION

               FIELD TRIP CONFIRMATION

           Box lunches: $10 per person (The Wet Shop will provide these)

           Transportation to and from the Folly River Boat Landing: $0, provided

           courtesy of Karen McKenzie and the Charleston County Park and Recreation

           Commission.

Another cost‑saving measure is to try to arrange to use the same bus or other form of transportation to take participants to two different field trip sites.  This means you will have to schedule both trips at times which allow one group of participants to be dropped off at one site, the next group dropped off at another nearby site, with pick‑ups similarly arranged.  If you can work it out, this utilizes a bus charter fee more efficiently.

We offered 21 field trips for the Charleston conference.  Sixteen were provided on Sunday, which was devoted entirely to field trips and special workshops.  Five were offered on Wednesday morning, the last official day of the conference, during which no other sessions or workshops were available.  Of the 21 trips offered, 17 registered sufficient numbers of people to make them a "go.”  If we under‑registered a trip by only a few people, we did not cancel it, choosing instead to provide it and let another program which had registered more than the expected number of people support it.  We only cancelled those programs which were severely under‑registered and which would lose so much money that they were not worth "subsidizing" with another over‑registered program.  This strategy worked well and we ended up with a nice overall profit from our field trip registrations.

Two copies of the Field Trip Confirmation form were sent to the contact person for each trip.  Each copy was signed by our field trip chairperson.  A cover letter accompanying this mailing asked the contact person to sign and date one copy and return it to the field trip chairperson in the self‑addressed, stamped envelope which was included.  A copy of the field trip provider's liability insurance was also requested.  The contact person kept the other‑signed copy of the Field Trip Confirmation form.  Follow‑up telephone calls were necessary (of course!) to request those forms, which were not returned in a timely manner.

Our field trip providers, without exception, did not require any deposits earlier than four weeks before the trip was scheduled.  Most of our providers allowed us to bring a check for the full amount on the day of the field trip.  Stapled to the check was a strip of paper asking for a receipt to be mailed to our treasurer at the address provided.  A phone number was included, in case any questions arose.  Our bus charter company required a 50% deposit 30 days before the conference.  All of our field trip providers agreed that if weather forced a cancellation, no fees would be due, and any deposits already paid would be returned.

After all trips have been decided upon and arranged, and Field Trip Confirmation forms have been typed, distributed, signed, and returned to the field trip chairperson, there will likely be a "lull" of several months before things get busy again.  The information provided on the Field Trip Confirmation forms can be used to provide a description of each trip for the conference program.  It is a good idea to check in with the individual contact person for each trip, as well as with the people providing transportation, about six months before the conference, just to be sure everything is still as you expect it to be!  After you have done this, there should be a period of relative calm, until registration begins.

Registration is a busy time for the field trip committee.  A list of all field trips, with the minimum and maximum numbers of participants for each trip, should be provided to the people who are doing registration for your conference.  We established a "cut‑off date" of mid‑June (our conference was August 6‑11) for all field trip registrations.  If people attempted to register for field trips after this cut‑ off date, they were told that we were no longer taking field trip applications, but that a list of available openings would be posted at the conference check‑in area, and on‑site registration would be available.  This cut‑off date was necessary in order to be sure sufficient transportation was arranged, and to enable the individual field trip providers to know fairly accurate numbers of participants to expect for their programs.  We felt it would be unfair and unwise to expect our field trip providers to plan their trip without knowing several weeks in advance how many participants to expect.

As trips filled, our field trip chairperson worked with those people doing our registration to send handwritten notes to anyone who didn't get into a field trip because it was full.  If a registrant provided second (or, sometimes, even third) choices which we were able to accommodate, then we simply registered them for that field trip choice and sent the standard form letter informing them of which trip they were enrolled in.  If they only provided choices which were already filled, however, we sent a handwritten 41 note of condolence" (along with a statement that their field trip registration fee would be refunded, of course).

Many people will have questions about the field trip choices; be prepared to receive email and phone messages throughout ‑ and well after ‑ the registration period.  The people listed in the conference announcement as field trip contacts should be available during this period to respond to these queries.  All people listed as contacts should be intimately familiar with the trips listed ‑ preferably having already gone on each of the trips themselves ‑ so that they may answer specific questions sure to arise about how to dress, how rigorous the activity level is, etc.

Following the cut‑off date, participant lists should be compiled for each trip.  A copy of this list of names should be mailed to each field trip contact person (see the enclosed form, which was mailed along with the participant list).  If the trip is not yet full, the note accompanying this list should state the approximately number of participants you anticipate adding via on‑site registration.  A phone call to each contact person a couple of days after the expected arrival of the participant list is a good idea, to verify its receipt, as well as to confirm final arrangements for each trip.  For those trips which are also providing lunch or snacks for the participants, note any special dietary needs on the participant list, and confirm this verbally during your phone conversation.  This is also the time to confirm expected participant numbers with your transportation providers, as well as to make sure that those driving the vehicles know the location of each field trip site.  If they need directions, provide specific written directions; don't rely upon verbal directions.  We asked all field trip participants to ride only in the transportation provided for their trip.  Allowing participants to drive their own vehicles and "meet you there” adds an element of difficulty to the entire process! People can get lost, arrive early and disturb those at the field trip site who are preparing for the group, arrive late and delay the beginning of the program, and miss background information given by the field trip coordinator (see below) during the bus ride.

The participant list is sure to change after the close of registration.  People will cancel, opening spaces, which can then be provided for on‑site registration during the conference.  We established a date of July 6, after which no refunds would be made for conference registration, field trips, or special workshops.

Field Trip Coordinators: We decided to have a "field trip coordinator" for each field trip we provided.  This person was a volunteer, chosen from among the conference planning committee and those individuals who had been active in our state marine educators organization.  To thank them for their help, we allowed them to register for their trip at half‑price if the trip fee was $50.00 or higher, or at no fee if the trip was less than $50.00.  Two copies of the enclosed letter were sent to each coordinator about six months prior to the conference, to confirm their participation in this role and to provide them with documentation, as they were asked to send one copy of the letter with their registration form when they registered for their field trip, so the registrar knew they were authorized to pay a fee which was different from the others.

We had a problem with our field trip coordinators not registering for their trips.  In spite of having received their letters, very few actually used them and registered for the trips for which they had volunteered to serve as coordinators.  Perhaps follow‑up phone calls after registration information has been mailed would have been useful in reminding these people to follow the established procedure.  If the coordinators do not register, as trips fill, there may be no room for your coordinator!  It is important, therefore, that they submit their registration in a timely manner, and register for their field trip!

Thank you once again for the field trip you have agreed to provide for the members of the National Marine Educators Association as part of our annual conference, being held for the first time in lovely Charleston! The information below reflects the registration for your program as of June 15, 1999.  I will be in touch with you by the first week of July to review the details of your program.  Please feel free to contact me at any point, if necessary.

As some of you know, I will be moving to Africa in August to teach at an International School for at least the next two years.  I have already sold and moved out of my house and will be leaving for the Ivory Coast mid‑way through the NMEA conference.  If you need to contact me, please call 795‑ 8138 and leave a message.  This is my cc‑husband's house (we remain good friends!).  He will always know how to contact me, as we will be living in several places this summer, and he will relay messages to me.

PROGRAM TITLE:

PROGRAM DATE:

PROGRAM TIMES:

TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED BY:

PROGRAM LOCATION:

NUMBER OF REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS:

ADDITIONAL PROGRAM INFORMATION:

NATIONAL MARINE EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION

FIELD TRIP OVERVIEW

Sunday, August 8

Wednesday, August 11