EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES K-12 & UP
The Adobe Creek Restoration Project / United Anglers of Casa Grande
- Students of Casa Grande High School in Petaluma have worked hard
to incorporate students of all ages, kindergarten through college, into
the Adobe Creek Restoration Project. Students have put forth extraordinary
effort to build a fish hatchery and rebuild creek habitat that was previously
incapable of supporting fish in 1983. Their unique efforts are truly inspirational
and have generated the support of artist Thomas Creed
who created an Alaskan panoramic mural for their classroom wall and biologist
Jane Goodall who honors them in her book Reason For Hope.
http://www.uacg.org/
Environmental Protection Agency/Office of Water suggest in
their Fifteen Things You Can Do to Make a Difference in Your Watershed
website
15 ways to learn about, celebrate, create wildlife habitat and monitor
water quality with links to specific project resources.
http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/earthday/earthday.html
Also through EPA you can find a slide show consisting of 21
slides and text called Introduction to Watershed Ecology. "After completing
this training, the participant should know the basic biotic and abiotic
components of watersheds, the basic natural processes and interrelationships
occurring in watersheds, and how watershed structure and functions may
vary in time and space. Some background in the life sciences is helpful
for comprehending this material, but not required."
http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/ecology/index.html
Adopt-A-Watershed works to inspire students from kindergarten
through twelfth grade with a sense of place in nature and in their community,
an awareness that they can make a difference, and lifelong quest for knowledge
about the environment. We do this by providing schools with an integrated,
sequential, K-12 science curriculum focused on the local environment and
emphasizing service in partnership with the community. Many Sonoma County
schools are currently listed as offering this curriculum.
http://www.adopt-a-watershed.org/
In Our Own Backyard is a program linking school
children to Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
(SCAPOSD) acquisitions. The program is centered on the "adoption" of a
SCAPOSD acquisition within a participating school's given watershed. A
series of four theme based site visits evolve from fun and learning expeditions
to community service throughout the school year. The sequence is designed
to provide learning opportunities while nurturing the desire in children
to serve both their human and natural communities.
http://www.landpaths.org/education/ioobkyd.htm
Resources for Teaching about Surface Water Issues -
based in King County, Seattle, Washington - Curricula, newsletters and
other resources.
http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/pi/edusrcs.htm
Salmonid Restoration Federation Field School is
a self contained residential school that offers 3- 5 day sessions emphasizing
hands-on training and field demonstrations to help students learn to assess
habitat problems and causes on a watershed scale. The California Department
of Fish and Game's California Salmonid Stream Restoration Manual is a principal
text.
http://www.northcoastweb.com/srf/field
-school.html
STRAW Project - (Students and Teachers Restoring A Watershed)
- The STRAW Project coordinates and sustains a network of teachers, students,
community members and restoration specialists as they plan and implement
watershed studies and restoration projects in Marin and Sonoma counties.
STRAW provides teachers and students with the scientific, educational and
technical resources to prepare them for hands-on, outdoor watershed studies,
including ecological restoration of riparian corridors. Straw's overarching
goals are to empower students, support teachers, restore the environment
and reconnect communities.
http://www.bay.org/educate/straw.html
Sustainable Sonoma County is a learning and action community
that connects, inspires, and empowers people to align their thinking and
action with their deep need for a life affirming and sustainable world.
SSC's integrated array of projects, events, workshops, research, and publications
create a whole systems approach that fosters transformation toward a world
that works for all, forever.
http://www.sustainablesonoma.org/
TIDEPOOL - Online newsletter and archives of environmental
issues related to the Rain Forest Coast. Includes restoration, invasive
species, green business and globalization, among other topics of interest.
Options to subscribe by email on a daily or weekly basis.
http://www.tidepool.org/
WSP Environmental Art Gallery - For one of the lessons in
WSP's "Real Science" curriculum, students use materials from their classrooms
and from their homes to produce artwork reflecting their thoughts and feelings
about watersheds and watershed restoration.
http://www.northcoast.com/~fishhelp/gallery_f/art_index.html
AGENCIES and ORGANIZATIONS
Atascadero Creek and Green Valley Creek Watershed Council - The
mission of the Atascadero Creek and Green Valley Creek (AGV) Watershed
Council is to bring together the people who live and work in the AGV Watershed
to help each other in taking responsibility for their impact on the watershed
through protection, restoration and education.
Email contact Zeno Swijtink at: swijtink@sonoma.edu
Blucher Creek Watershed Council - Mission is to protect
the quality of life of the human inhabitants of the valley, as well as
all the unique plants and animals with whom we share our land.
http://www.bluchercreek.org
Email contact: BCWC@yahoogroups.com
Bodega Land Trust - Bodega Land Trust is a group of people
working to preserve and restore our land and its communities. "Our world
is composed of many kinds of communities that depend on the land for their
sustenance. In the last hundred years much of our land has become degraded
or threatened. If we and the other creatures are to flourish, we must take
better care of the land which has sustained us....We intend to do our part;
we hope you will join us."
http://www.bodeganet.com/BodegaLandTrust.html
California Oak Mortality Task Force (COMTF) is a non-profit
organization, under the California Forest Pest Council, that brings together
public agencies, other non-profit organizations and private interests to
address the issue of elevated levels of oak mortality. The Task Force will
implement a comprehensive and unified approach for research, management,
education and public policy.
http://www.suddenoakdeath.org/
CERES is an information system developed by the California
Resources Agency to facilitate access to a variety of electronic data describing
California's rich and diverse environments.
http://ceres.ca.gov/
Dutch Bill Creek Watershed Group - The mission of the Dutch
Bill Creek Watershed Group is to protect and enhance the hydrological,
biological and social conditions of the watershed.
http://www.monitor.net/~david/coyoteadventures/
Environmental Center of Sonoma County - With the aim of pooling
resources to protect and enhance the county's environment, a federation
of local groups formed the Sonoma County Conservation Council in 1984.
Eventually SCCC became incorporated as a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit.
The Environmental Center of Sonoma County is a project of the SCCC. It
is operated by volunteers.
http://www.envirocentersoco.org/
For the Sake of the Salmon - Website is designed primarily
for watershed groups and local communities working to restore and protect
salmon habitat.
http://www.4sos.org
Forests Unlimited is a nonprofit organization that monitors
logging plans county wide in an effort to maintain forest and watershed
integrity.
(707) 632-6070
Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District - RCDs are Resource
Conservation Districts. They are non-regulatory, grass roots special districts
established by Division 9 of the California Public Resources Code.
http://www.sonomamarinrcds.org/
North Coast Water Coalition - Successfully managing our watersheds
for a potable water supply in perpetuity addresses all of our issues -
fisheries, timber, gravel mining, agriculture, urbanization, wastewater,
pollution, habitats, land use planning and governance. Mission is a healthy
watershed because that is the least cost and most reliable way to have
a safe drinking water supply forever.
http://www.sonomaconnection.com/ncwc
Northern California River Watch - River Watch is a non-profit
membership organization that has worked since 1996 to strengthen the ability
of citizens to protect water quality in rivers, tributary watersheds, oceans,
bays, wetlands, surface and groundwater in Northern California. River Watch
works throughout Marin County and Water Quality Control Board Region 1
including Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Lake,
Trinity and Glenn counties.
http://www.northerncaliforniariverwatch.org
Occidental Arts & Ecology Center - A nonprofit educational
center and intentional community located on an 80 acre property of organic
gardens, orchards and wildlands in western Sonoma County. Ecology courses
include Water Management, Sustainable Forestry and Starting and Sustaining
community Watershed Groups, among others.
http://www.oaec.org
Redefining Progress - Calculate your Ecological Footprint
- Simple 13 question quiz to determine your ecological impact on the planet.
http://www.redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainability/ef/
Russian River Watershed Council - The mission of the Russian
River Watershed Council is to protect, restore, and enhance the biological
health of the Russian River and its watershed through a community based
process, which facilitates communication and collaboration among all interested
parties.
http://www.rrwc.net
Salmon Creek Watershed Council - Links to other resources, some
information on previous Watershed Days and watershed related artwork done
by children. Salmon Creek Watershed Council meets monthly at Osmosis OFFICES
on the left in the same building as the Freestone Store. Bohemian Hwy.,
Freestone
Email Contact: watershed@bodeganet.com
Email Contact: Steve Killey skilley@bodeganet.com
http://www.bodeganet.com
http://www.bodeganet.com/SalmonCreek
http://www.freestone.com/salmoncreek/
http://www.joyridge.com
Stewards of Slavianka (SOS) - A nonprofit volunteer organization
that funds educational and interpretive opportunities in the State Parks
of the Russian River. Stewards of Slavianka works in partnership with California
State Parks to protect and interpret the natural and cultural resources
of the Russian River District. Volunteers promote public awareness and
an understanding of our natural and cultural history as well as assist
in the development and maintenance of interpretive facilities, programs
and trails.
Michele Luna, Executive Director
Stewards of Slavianka - PO Box 221 - Duncans Mills, CA 95430
(707) 869.9177
Email Contact : sos@mcn.org
http://www.stewardsofslavianka.org/
Town Hall Coalition - The mission of the Town Hall Coalition
is to build a social movement that promotes ecologically and economically
healthy communities through responsible land use: conserving, protecting,
and restoring our watersheds, forests and natural habitats and supporting
sustainable and diverse agriculture.
http://www.townhallcoalition.org
USDA Forest Service Reports - Great source for
Forest Service reports on various aspects of watershed-scale management.
http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs.htm
Warm Springs Dam Release Change Notification -
Provides
the date and time of outflow release changes from Warm Springs Dam.
http://www.spk-wc.usace.army.mil/cgi-bin/rel_notif.pl?-wrs
VIDEOS
We All Live Downstream A video documentary providing
information about watersheds, how they function and ways in which communities
can get involved in watershed management. Available for purchase from a
Monterey area organization called Coastal Watershed Council at (813) 426-9012
or http://www.coastal-watershed.org/education.htm
Red Fish Blue Fish Won Global Vision Award Grand
Prize at the 1998 World Population Film/Video Festival, 1999 International
Wildlife Film Festival Award Winning Video for best use of music, best
narration, 2nd place for best script, and special jury prize for extraordinary
achievement. About endangered salmon and Salmon Recovery, Columbia
and Snake River. Ecologic resource with articles on endangered salmon and
salmon recovery plans in Idaho. Information on Snake River Dams and Columbia
River Dams...
http://www.bluefish.org/
For updates, additions and deletions please contact Adrienne Badella
at: abadella@sonic.net