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WWW Picnic on July 11th
You and
your family and friends are invited to join us for an old fashioned
picnic/potluck on fabled Tarplant Hill. We're celebrating summer and
doing a little birdwatching with our Watsonville Wetlands Watch friends.
Bring a dish or drinks to share, picnic plates, cups, flatware, etc.,
and a blanket or beach chair to sit on. We will provide tables for the
food buffet, spotting scopes, binoculars, and bird guides. Tarplant Hill
is across the street from Landmark School, 235 Ohlone Parkway, in
Watsonville; park in the Landmark Elementary parking lot. Please RSVP to
Kathy
Fieberling at kathyfieb@yahoo.com or 831-345-1226. Map.
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New Business Outreach Committee Seeks Members
WWW announces the
formation of the Business Outreach Committee (BOC) to focus on the
business community for support and funding for Watch programs. Says
Debbie Diersch, Chair, "We want to expand and enrich Watch programs by
obtaining sustainable funding sources. This spring we had 30 students
from PVHS apply for the Wetlands Stewards Program, but we
can only fund six applicants. With more funding we could accept a
greater number. This program not only teaches students about the
wetlands, but prepares them for advanced studies in environmental and
other sciences."
If you are interested in participating in this
exciting endeavor, contact Debbie at diersch@sbcglobal.net.
For additional BOC volunteer needs, click here.
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Wetland Stewards Have Fun, Learn,
and
Teach
This
year Noelle Antolin, Education Director, and Molly Underwood,
Environmental Education Specialist, worked with six high school mentors
and eight school groups from Lakeview Middle School, Cesar Chavez MS,
Rolling Hills Middle School, EA Hall Middle School, Mintie White
Elementary, and Alianza Charter School. To date we have provided
after-school wetland programming to 160 students. We served most groups
eight times during the semester, for a total of 1,280 student contacts.
Each group has come out to the wetlands two to four times; the rest of the
program days were held at the schools.
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Wetlands Education for 1,500
The 2009/2010 school year has come to
a close and the staff are all taking a breath before gearing up for
2010/2011. This year staff has had the pleasure of introducing 1,500
PVUSD students to the wetlands of Watsonville through our various
programs. Many students have had the opportunity to come out on more
than one occasion. Students came from PVHS chemistry, integrated
science, health, and algebra classes, and also from elementary and
middle schools. |
Expert Explains the Grid
On June 17th, energy expert
Christine Hertzog led our lecture audience through an explanation of the
complicated network that supplies our electricity and how we can be
"prosumers," Alvin Toffler's term for "protective consumers." Some tips
were: install a water heater blanket; turn off your power strips at
night; put energy film inside your windows; reduce your use of plastics.
Attendee Bill Best suggested a campaign to put signs in home windows,
"Energy-Conserving Household," to encourage the public to conserve.
Sounds like a winning idea! To learn more, visit Christine's website, http://www.smartgridlibrary.com/. |
Students Restore West Struve Slough
In June PVHS students kept up their restoration
activities through Monterey Bay Aquarium's summer program, Watsonville
Area Teens Conserving Habitat (also called WATCH). The students worked
with restoration staff to remove poison hemlock growing among native
plants on West Struve Slough. The project is designed to improve habitat
and water quality on the Watsonville Sloughs Ecological Reserve.
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Partnerships Enhance Water Quality
Monitoring
In
April, we partnered with the Coastal Watershed Council to prepare for
Snap Shot Day, and CWC helped to facilitate the event on May 1st.
Eleven of our docents volunteered that day and have now adopted wetland
sites that they will monitor on a monthly basis. With our diverse
partnerships, the Watch embodies the slogan, "Together Each Achieves
More."
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Kayaking for Kids
Genevieve Goldstein, a PVHS
teacher, secured a grant which allowed Andy Hsia-Coron's chemistry
students to take a kayaking trip on the Watsonville Sloughs at the end
of April. WWW acquired permission from adjacent land owners and our
staff and docents provided the interpretation for students. It was the
experience of a lifetime for many of the teens! Both teachers are Watch
supporters.
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Bring
Your Friends on a
Wetlands Alive!
Tour
Available through September, tours originate from the Fitz WERC on the
grounds of Pajaro Valley High School. Guests receive a fascinating view
of the birds, plants, and wildlife of the wetlands; binoculars provided.
Tours are ½ to 1 mile and last 1 to 2 hours, depending on group
preference. Walk is on uneven ground; wear layers, long pants, and
walking shoes. Tours are free; reservations are required by Friday noon:
send an e-mail to genie@watsonvillewetlandswatch.org or
call the WERC at 831-728-1156, ext. 7. For more information, including
the tour schedule, click here. |
Would You Like to See More Citizens
Protecting our Environment?
You
can support our work to protect, restore, and foster appreciation of
the wetlands. Contribute online by going to our website, www.watsonvillewetlandswatch.org;
or send a donation in the mail to WWW, P.O. Box 1239, Freedom, CA 95019.
Contributions are tax-
deductible in accordance with IRS rules for
non-profit organizations and are greatly appreciated. |
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Watsonville Wetlands Watch advocates
for wetland issues, educates
elementary, middle, and high school students, restores degraded
habitats, preserves what remains whole, and teaches appreciation for
the unique beauty and life of the Pajaro Valley wetlands. In
cooperation with numerous other agencies, we support studies of and
planning for these sites. |
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