Restoring valley oak riparian forests with a service-learning project
Abstract
Through a partnership with the Cosumnes River Preserve, students in the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District are helping to restore valley oak riparian forests. The Cosumnes River Project is a broad based effort to restore and safeguard the integrity of the Cosumnes River and its surrounding landscape. The Nature Conservancy and its partners established the Cosumnes River Preserve in 1987. Educational consultant Michael Stark submitted this effective practice in August, 2003 as part of a project for CalServe.Issue
Restoring a valley oak riparian ecosystem and its surrounding habitat through service-learning projects.Action
Students in the Galt Joint Union School District are helping with the restoration of valley oak riparian forests.- Second and third grade students study oak forests and their importance.
- Each fall the students take field trips to collect acorns and observe the forest.
- Students wash, count, sort, and bag acorns for storage.
- Grades 4 and 5 are responsible for planting the acorns.
- Grade 6 monitors the progress of the newly planted areas.
Context
The Cosumnes River Preserve is located near Galt, California. Its proximity to the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley schools and communities makes it an ideal location for studying local environmental issues and natural history.
A three part curriculum unit is available as a series or separately by grade level (grades K-3, grades 4-6, and grades 7-12). The curriculum focuses on local environmental education. Each grade level packet includes classroom activities designed to accompany the fall and spring on-site trail activities. The curriculum was developed with local and state curriculum requirements in mind. The preserve provides elementary school environmental curriculum guides aligned to local and state standards for a $10.00 fee.
The Cosumnes River Preserve offers fall and spring workshops for teachers and parents which must be attended prior to scheduling a field trip. The workshops focus on preparing teachers and parents for an on-site visit to the Preserve.
Outcome
The students learn about the life cycle of an oak tree and its role in the ecosystem. They also learn about local environmental issues and natural history.Evidence
Environmental service-learning opportunities can help students make connections between what they learn and how they live. The Galt Joint Union School District students learned the importance of restoring the integrity of a river ecosystem.Posted On
January 5, 2006For More Information
Resources
Through the CalServe Initiative, the California Department of Education has been supporting a Statewide Regional Service-Learning Network and district wide school-community partnerships that annually involve over 120,000 students and approximately 15,000 community volunteers in urban, rural and suburban communities throughout the state. It is the California Department of Education's vision that by the year 2004, 50 percent of all districts will include service-learning as part of their regular instructional practice, engaging students in at least one service-learning experience at each grade span (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12).Related Practices
Related sites
National Service-Learning Clearinghouse