Sierra Club Holds Eco Field Trip for Aspiring Middle School Scientists
store arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;”>By Nina Danza, Sierra Club Youth Outing Leader
Kids are counting down the days to summer vacation, textbooks are being turned in, senioritis is rampant! This is the right time to get kids out of the classroom for fresh air.. That’s exactly what Sierra Club did recently for some 7th graders at Rio Vista Middle School. Nina Danza, Sierra Club youth outing leader, took the 30 most interested science students on a field trip this past week to the Santa Clara River.
Before the trip, Danza worked with the Rio Vista Middle School biology teacher to develop a program that would mesh with classroom curriculum. Danza wanted to use the living environment on the Santa Clara River to enrich in class lessons about ecosystems, water quality and native species. “Knowledge sticks longer and better by touching, smelling and hearing real examples,” notes Danza,” and taking the kids to the Santa Clara River is a perfect fit.”
Using the Santa Clara River for this program was supremely intentional. The River is located near the school but the students, and the community at large, are unaware of its environmental value. Also mostly unknown is the plan for a future Santa Clara River Parkway, a continuous natural corridor within the river boundaries from the ocean to the Ventura County line. The Santa Clara River Parkway project involves preserving and restoring its environment by land purchase and easement. To date, The Nature Conservancy in partnership with State Coastal Conservancy, owns about 4,000 acres of the River environment. Danza obtained support of The Nature Conservancy for using one of the larger areas owned near Santa Paula, but not yet open to the public, for the field trip.
Water Science Station manned by USFW on the Santa Clara River — Photo credit Nina Danza
“This spot has easy access to the actual water,” Danza explains, “which reinforces the fact that there is a very alive and biodiverse ecosystem in our midst.” She set up a series of science stations and recruited local experts to volunteer as station leaders. What did the stations demonstrate? At the water edge a team from USFW captured tadpoles, native frogs and toads, and discussed dissolved oxygen and trout habitat. On an upper river terrace, volunteers from Ventura Audubon passed out binoculars and spotted turkey vultures, swallows, heard the call of the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo and showed how to use a bird guidebook. At other stations an interactive urban drainage demonstration was held, native plant uses were discovered, and insects were caught and released. “As a youth leader I’ve worked to get kids out into nature,” remarked Danza, “but to have such highly qualified volunteers help was an incredible benefit to the program.”
Caption: Ventura Audubon expertise greatly enhanced the field trip experience — Photo credit: Nina Danza
Danza organized a nature scavenger hunt after a midday break. Teams looked for things learned earlier in the day including specific native and invasive plant species, evidence of human impacts, pollinators in action and more.
Caption: Catch and release with Vta Co Wildlife Tracker —
Photo credit: Nina Danza
Not only was the day a good break from year-end restlessness, but perhaps this field trip will breed a few new future botanists, wildlife conservationists and water scientists.
Nina Danza is a Ventura Sierra Club advocate for the Santa Clara River and is a civil engineer specializing in stormwater issues.
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