2019-2020 Watershed Classroom Projects

We hope that by sharing these projects with our community, educators will be inspired to incorporate the river and watershed into their classrooms; thereby, fostering students’ appreciation for conserving and celebrating their environment.

keeping our watershed healthy

Our first graders will learn what a watershed is, and specifically learn about the water, plants, and animals of Shollenberger Park in the Petaluma Watershed. Students will learn about adaptations of some of the birds and plants of Shollenberger. They will learn that people and animals depend on natural systems, and that people influence natural systems. Students will use books, internet, and field trips to gather information to use in a piece of informational writing and a presentation about the plants and animals of the Shollenberger wetland and/or the Petaluma Watershed.

Watershed Stewards

Students will explore local and global watersheds through frequent outdoor learning opportunities, field trips, and content about the Amazon watershed and rainforest (focus on the Peruvian Amazon rainforest.) Students will search for and record as many species as possible, information will be added to data already collected over the past two years in support of our efforts to track biodiversity on the McNear Campus. The students will continue to develop a bird habitat by adding more native plants and creating observation sit-spots in the garden.

Corona Creek ecosystem restoration

Students will engage in a yearlong study of Corona Creek, which flows through city land adjacent to the Kenilworth Junior High campus. During the course of the year students will become familiar with the Corona Creek vegetation, aquatic life, soil conditions, and water quality. As part of their data collection, students will identify make and record observations of birds, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals that currently reside in the Corona Creek area.

urban influence on water quality, invertebrate species, and diatom species

The 4th and 7th grade students at Live Oak Charter School propose to engage in a citizen/student monitoring project with the Friends of the Petaluma River. The project will take place over 6 weeks in the fall and 6 weeks in the spring. The project will support real student learning in Environmental Science, will contribute to understanding and monitoring of the health of the Petaluma River, and will facilitate inter-age social support for our school.

Petaluma High School: Biology 10th Grade

Human Impact on the Petaluma Watershed

Students will consider the role of humans in the watershed. We will explore unintentional and intentional impacts, and how we can live mindfully in our watershed. As such we will look specifically at restoration as a way humans can mitigate unintentional human impacts, such as habitat loss and climate change, in order to create a more sustainable watershed.