Three unique water-based field trips are lined up for this year’s class of fifth-graders at Mary Buren Elementary School in Guadalupe.
A $60,000 grant awarded to the Cachuma Resource Conservation District by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will pay for the trips as part of a watershed education project. The grant supports in-class learning experiences, field trips, and engaging the broader community.
In class, students will explore non-point source pollution, ocean acidification, the water cycle, and different soil types. Outside of class, the fifth-graders will get to visit the Marine Science Institute Research Experience and Education Facility at UCSB, sail to Anacapa Island, and participate in a beach restoration project at the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve.
“The coolest one will be the field trip to the Channel Islands,” Guadalupe Union School District Superintendent Ed Cora said. “This may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some of these kids to get to do something like this.”
Students will share their “once in a lifetime” experiences with the community through a series of presentations. They will explain the connection between the watershed and the ocean to their parents, design a water bill insert exploring the impact land inputs have on water quality, and present a list of suggested actions for improving watershed quality to the Guadalupe City Council.
For more information about this project, or to learn how to get involved or donate, contact the conservation district’s executive director Anne Coates at acoates@rcdsantabarbara.org or 455-2820.
This article appears in Oct 17-24, 2013.
