SDA-RF-AT-3.25.pdf
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SDA-RF-AT-3.25
Working Systemically
© T yler
STRAW: Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed
The way we treat rivers reflects the way we treat each other
—Aldo Leopold
The STRAW Project coordinates and sustains a network of teachers, students and
community members as they plan and implement watershed restoration projects which include
water monitoring,.habitat mapping, riparian restoration,- and bird and aquatic insect monitoring.
Participating teachers receive scientific advice and training in environmental project-based
learning as well as watershed curriculum integrating science and the arts.
A Project of The Bay Institute and the Center for Ecoliteracy
Restoring the North Bay
The STRAW Project evolved out of the student-initiated Shrimp
Project, which connected students and teachers with ranchers in
order to restore creek habitat. More than half of all STRAW
restorations occur on ranchland with the ranchers serving as
teachers-, leaders and partners. Since 1993, classes of students
have worked with teachers, ranchers, biologists and community
members to help save endangered species in the North Bay
through watershed restoration.
Classes are mapping riparian habitat, carrying out water-monitor
ing tests, researching riparian wildlife populations, clearing debris
from creeks and implementing public education campaigns to
clean up watersheds. Students inspired through these activities are
encouraged to write poetry, create murals, paint artwork, make
videos, and write songs about their experiences.
Students involved in the project benefit from working alongside
experts in the field of riparian renewal who are engaged in thfe
preservation'and restoration of the natural health and beauty of
watersheds and wetlands.
c
•‘
The STRAW Project includes a bird monitoring program that
enables participants to design and implement watershed projects
with a particular focus on migratory and non-migratory birds, and
a biological assessment component that monitors aquatic insects
as an indicator of creek health.
“Ifyou, who are valley streams
The partners in this effort share a common vision of sustainability
and concern for our children and their future. They recognize a
and looming mountains; '
need to understand pur place in nature, and to know more about
watersheds and ecosystems and the cycles of life in order to
can't throw some light ■
create sustainable communities/
on the nature of ridges and rivers,
who can?”
. *
Gary Snyder
From We Wash Our Bqwls. in this Water
A Collaboration of
The Bay Institute and the Center for Ecoliteracy
The Bay Institute *
Dedicated to the protection- and restoration of the ecosystem of the ' an Francisco Bay/ ;
the Sacramento-San Joaquin.Delta and.the rivers, streams and watershed t ibutary to the estuary.
Center for Ecoliteracy
Dedicated to fostering experience and understanding of the na ral world.
Participating Partners
Adopt-a-Watershed
AmeriCorps.Watershed Project
.
Friends of Corte Madera Creek
Marin Conservation Corps
Marin County Resource Conservation District
pi ■
Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (MCSTp|PPP)
Marin Municipal Water District'
North Bay Riparian Station
Point Reyes Bird Observatory
Prunuske Chatham Inc.
River of Words
Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies
Save the Bay
School Environmental Education Docents SEED
Southern Sonoma Resource Conservation District
The Richardson Bay Audubon Center and-Sanctuary
STRAW Network Schools "
Belaire School, Tiburon.
Brookside School, San Anselmo
Country Charter School, Occidental .
Davidson Middle School, San Rafael •
Dixie School, San Rafael .
Drake High School, San Anselmo
Edna Maguire School, Mill Valley
Gallinas- School, San Rafael
Greenwood School, Mill Valley
Hill Middle School, Novato ‘
Kent Middle School, Kentfield
Lagunitas School, Lagunitas
Liberty School,. Petaluma
Manor School, Fairfax
Marin Country Day School,.Corte Madera
Mary Silveira School, San Rafael .
McNear Elementary School, Petaluma
Mill Valley Middle School, Mill Valley
Miller Creek School, San Rafael
Montgomery High School, Santa Rosa
Novato Charter School, Novato
Old Adobe School, Petaluma
Old Mill School, Mill Valley
'
Ross' School, Ross
San Jose Middle School, Novato
San Pedro School, San Rafael
San Rafael High School, San Rafael
San Ramon School, Novato
Sobriety High School, San Rafael
Tam Valley School,.Mill Valley
Tomales High School, Tomales
Two Rock School, Two Rock
Vallecito School, San Rafael
Wade Thomas School, San Anselmo
Funding Partners
Center for Ecoliteracy
California Department of Education
The Dean Witter Foundation
Fred Gellert Family Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Marin Community Foundation
The Marin Wildlife and Fisheries Committee
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Wildlife Conservation Board
Creek As Classroom
Students and teachers using creeks as classrooms have many rich
opportunities for integrating academic disciplines with real life
situations. Project STRAW offers an experience of immersion in
the environment allowing students to perform field studies in bird,.
aquatic insect and water monitoring. As student research enriches
the individual learning experience, it also contributes to the. total
body of knowledge collected 6n a particular species, or in a
particular segment of the watershed;
An integrated curriculum utilizes the creek as a context for
teaching subject matter in the state frameworks. Math,'history,
science, literature, writing, art and music can be enriched and
anchored by the energy and excitement .found in th'e watershed.
Learning experiences in the creeks, fields and shores of the
watershed bring about foundational shifts in behaviors and atti
tudes.Team building takes place as a natural outgrowth of working
together in nature. It builds confidence, a sense of adventure, and
a newfound respect for the beauty and’intricate relationships of
the natural world.
As students come to understand their relationship to natural
systems and cycles, they can begin to form a context for more
© Tyler
sustainable and equitable patterns of living. Key to this under
standing is the v/atershed and the lessons it has to teach.
The Project incorporates! the study of environmental science with
an educational poetry and art program. Adding the arts as a
component to the restoration work encourages students to • •
assimilate and express the experiences they share while working
.
When you work together
pn the creek, what you have
together in the watershed. The Project marries the resources of
the literary, artistic and environmental communities in the service
of education.
is hot just, a rehabilitated creek,
you have rehabilitated people.
—Rancher Paul Martin
Educators Network
During the 1999-2000 restoration season, 80 classes will participate in
watershed projects through the STRAW Network. The Network
provides educators with specialized leadership training in environmen
tal project-based learning activities, information on scientific techniques
for bird research and aquatic insect monitoring, and a watershed
curriculum complete with support and training for-integration with
the arts.
The STRAW Network offers an annual Summer Teachers’ Leadership
Institute that provides inspiration, energy, and technical, support for
teachers planning watershed projects in the coming year. In addition,
fall and winter Network meetings and a spring celebration are part of
the ongoing support available through the program.
Restoring a Sense of Place
Effective watershed management
AH nine counties of the Bay Area are united by the San Francisco Bay. '
involves learning as much about the
motivation, needs, and hopes ofyour
It influences the weather, climate, transportation, economy, agriculture
and water supply. The mutable marine environment shapes the
perspective of those who dwell here.
fellow watershed residents as you
learn about the hydrolog}’, geology,
The natural history of the Bay chronicles a place of incomparable
.beauty, teaming with life.The first Europeans to reach the Bay de-
■ and biology of the watershed.
, scribed a sparkling setting where the wings of waterfowl, congregated .
—Dennis Bowker
in the millions, drummed like, a resonant thunder.
Napa County
Resource Conservation District
The STRAW Project stimulates and increases a focus on the health of
. San Francisco Bay and the watershed that surrounds it. Timely focus is
The Bay Institute
55 Shaver Street, Ste.; 330
San Rafael, CA 94901
tel: 415.721.7680
fax: 415.721.7497
www.bay.org/straw.html
Grant Davis, Executive Director
Laurette Rogers, STRAW Program Manager
needed to preserve the life of this grand estuary. Working together
teachers, students and community members find encouragement and
tools to accomplish ambitious, scientifically driven watershed
restoration work.
The Project transfers its sense of grounded optimism to participants,'
Center for Ecoliteracy
2522 San Pablo Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
www.ecoliteracy.org
info@ecoliteracy.org
Zenobia Barlow, Executive Director
Sandy Neumann, Program Officer, Education
young and old.This is work that engages the senses and imparts hope
for the future. Participants find that in working together to restore the
San Francisco Bay watershed, they are also rebuilding a sense of place
and belonging.
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