We Connect People of All Ages to Nature

Our goal is to create a community that understands, cares about, and cares for the natural world, at Lake Tahoe and around the Globe, and one way that we do this is through our diverse science education programs. Since our first programs in 2010, the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science has reached over 68,250 kids. All of this is accomplished with a full-time staff of three; to expand our education reach, we need additional resources.

Cumulative Student Contacts

Scientific research is the foundation to all TINS activities and programming. We use bird banding to monitor post-breeding dispersal and migration use at several Lake Tahoe riparian and wetland sites. We also are able to incorporate our bird banding into educational opportunities for students and the public. Since 2010 we have banded a total of 6,901 birds at six different study sites.

Our Outreach programs bring nature education to the rest of the community, engaging children and adults alike outside the classroom, and allowing for the public to learn about and experience the Tahoe region's natural history in a variety of ways including guided outings, talks, Citizen Science, festivals, and other special events. Through 2022, TINS hosted 179 talks and presentations and 532 guided nature outings, for a total of 15,759 participants. Citizen science, festivals, and other events put our Outreach totals much higher!