Thursday, November 16, 2006
Two classes of fifth-graders from Flowery Elementary School got down and dirty on Tuesday morning in the estuary at San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge out near Sears Point. They collected and tested soil samples, peered at native birds and identified plants with the help of staff from Sonoma Ecology Center, as part of the center's K-12 Watershed Education program, which serves more than 800 students in the Valley every year.
"It's cool," said Rubi Luna, 10, of the estuary. She particularly enjoyed testing the water for phosphates. At the next station, she and a classmate traded off simulating rain by spraying water at a hunk of mud and gravel, to see how much water and mud would make it through the "estuary" - a big green sponge.
Another group of kids slid their way down to the water's edge on the look-out for salt grass and pickleweed.
"It's CSI Sonoma!" shouted one boy.
Jessie Olson of the ecology center posed the first mystery for them to solve - "Does the pickleweed plant like salt water?"
The students' initial hypothesis was that it didn't because it wasn't right on the water's edge. She urged them to take a nibble of the green stalks, which led to a collective, "Bleck!" Indeed the pickleweed likes salt.
The Sonoma Ecology Center recently received a $15,000 grant from the Dean Witter Foundation to support and extend their educational programs.
"These funds will ensure we will be able to continue bringing the wonders of the natural world to Sonoma Valley youth," said Sandi Funke, education manager for the ecology center. "We are really pleased with this show of support for such an important program."
http://www.sonomanews.com/articles/2006/11/17/430/update02.txt