From the Classroom

Field Trip to the San Pablo Baylands

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Field Trip to the San Pablo Baylands

When preparing for their field trip out to the San Pablo Baylands, teachers Kirsten Franklin and Eric Norstad posed this question to their students: How can we, as fourth graders, learn about the importance of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge and help the Sonoma Land Trust share this information with the public in the form of a Public Service Announcement?

The San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a project years in the making; an acreage that has been given new life with it’s liberation from dry farmland to vital wetlands. In the mid 1980s, the Sonoma Land Trust acquired its first property in the Baylands along Highway 37. They then initiated the lengthy process of restoring the land to its natural state as tidal wetlands. This began by breaching a levee, which along with many others built in the 1880s destroyed the wetlands of the bay area to provide agricultural land for the growing city and population.

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What is a Watershed Classroom Teacher?

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What is a Watershed Classroom Teacher?

A Watershed Classroom teacher is supported with funds, field trips, materials, and resources, as they incorporate the local environment into their curriculum and classroom. 

When Eric Backman, Principal at Casa Grande and board member of Friends of the Petaluma River, first envisioned the program he very much wanted it to be teacher driven. Teachers know their strengths and what they do best; they know how they best build curriculum, modify it and adjust to fit their current students; and they know how to best facilitate a rich learning environment. 

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Friends of the Petaluma River's Professional Development Workshop

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Friends of the Petaluma River's Professional Development Workshop

Our recent Professional Development workshop was so enjoyable, not only due to the great presenters, but because of the teachers’ participation, collaboration and discussions. The two-day workshop began with Neal Ramus's introduction to Sonoma Land Trust and their restoration of the San Pablo wetlands. He also discussed the importance of wetlands in light of climate change and sea level rise. As Director of Community Programs at Sonoma Land Trust, Neal is excited for Sonoma educators to bring field trips out to explore, investigate and learn more about the wetlands and the restoration process. 

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Center for Community and Citizen Science Reflects on Recent Workshop

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Center for Community and Citizen Science Reflects on Recent Workshop

REFLECTING ON THE WOOLMAN CENTER WORKSHOP

Named after a mythical land from a novela when the Spanish first arrived, California was said to be paradise on Earth. However, times have changed since the Spanish first laid their eyes on the place we now call home. Social activists have spoken openly about the disasters of environmental change and many, from the top of California’s government to grassroots organizations are beginning to create much more systematic and widespread awareness and change with initiatives. The California Department of Education’s Blueprint for Environmental Literacy is one such initiative that puts forward the ambitious goal of educating all students about the environment. The initiative’s focus on not just basic environmental knowledge but also how to to make rational decisions to help preserve our ecosystem.  

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