Last Monday morning, students in Kirsten Franklin and Eric Norstad's third grade classes at McNear Elementary arrived at school excited for a day of outdoor exploration and discovery. As part of a planned restoration and habitat creation project on the McNear campus, they spent the day conducting a Bioblitz, recording species that they encountered along Thompson Creek and behind their classroom.
Read MoreThe Watershed Classroom is about supporting teachers implementing exceptional Petaluma Watershed curriculum. What this means is we at Friends of the Petaluma River spend a lot of time speaking with teachers, training teachers, coordinating with teachers… Don’t get us wrong, we love teachers! Our guiding principle is that educators are our community's most valuable resource.
Yet we realized that there was one piece missing from our side of the Watershed Classroom experience: STUDENTS! Though we sometimes get to work with students during field trips or at our end of the year Student Showcase, many participants in the Watershed Classroom had not even heard of the program. We decided it was time for a change.
Read MoreIf you walk the length of our home base at Steamer Landing, you can see the beginnings of a transformation. As part of a rewilding of the park, students of Jessica Dennen and Shiloh Winder’s Carpe Diem and Sonoma Mountain High School classes have been working with our Stewardship Coordinator Lee Farese to plant and tend to native California species.
Read MoreIt’s Spring which means it’s almost time for Friends of the Petaluma River’s biannual River Cleanup! This May 6th at 9am, dedicated community members will gather at the Petaluma Marina to spend a day being true friends to their river. Teams of stewards will head to various sites on and near the river to clear trash that would otherwise pollute our waterways. Afterwards we will celebrate with music, food, and good company!
Read MoreWatershed Classroom supports the implementation of exceptionally engaging curriculum about the Petaluma River and Watershed to educate youth in Petaluma about their place in our environment, how their decisions and actions affect their environment and inspire youth to conserve and celebrate the Petaluma Watershed.
© 2014 Watershed Classroom
