Six college students, under the supervision of Chico State faculty and staff, guide students and their teachers through basic ecology concepts including the life cycle and habitat needs of local anadromous salmonid species, the importance of biodiversity, and the danger to the habitat of encroachment by exotic plant species. Dr. Paul Maslin from the Biology Department of CSU, Chico, provides project and administrative oversight on creek ecology and Dr. Wes. Dempsey from Chico State advises on California native plants. The program provides internships and units for college students and the school system benefits as well.

40 field trips are run each year to sites as close as possible to each school. Three sites on Big Chico Creek, two on Little Chico Creek and one on the Feather River comprise approximately 80,000 square feet of riparian land.

Each classroom's field trip begins with an "ecosystem discovery hike" with Wes Dempsey, a retired CSUC biology professor and representative of the California Native Plant society. Students observe and discover stream flow dynamics and examples of healthy and unhealthy qualities of the riparian ecosystem, including native plant diversity and exotic encroachment. The first 20 trips involve 5 rotating stations focusing on native plant species ecology. Students spend 20-30 minutes at stations teaching stem propagation thru cuttings; planting; removal of exotics and invasive species; playing an environmental game; and transplanting, watering, and trash removal. In the spring the second 20 trips concentrate on maintenance and monitoring the plants growing at the original site and recording how many invasives have returned. The students learn about the food web and what kind of animals and wildlife the plants support and shelter.

The Salmon and Steelhead from Egg to Fry in the Classroom program is another community based education project in Butte County. Under project director Paul Maslin, and in conjunction with the Chico Research Foundation, students and faculty from Chico, Oroville, Paradise and/or Durham school districts study salmonid and stream ecology in support of native fishery restoration. Eggs are provided by the Feather River Hatchery, a Cal State DFG facility. Students raise the eggs in the "classroom incubator project", observing their growth and transformation into fry. When the fry are released, they are returned to the Feather River where the eggs originated. The creeks that Streamfinders work on are Salmon and Steelhead habitat, and it is essential that the eggs be returned to their source of origination to avoid danger of genetic "contamination" and to preserve biodiversity.

A similar incubator project is in use here in Del Norte County where I live. Rural Human Services has provided a Classroom Incubation Project for ten years. The program utilizes all educational modes to teach fourth grade and high school students the protection and restoration of salmon and steelhead trout populations. Eggs are delivered from the Rowdy Creek hatchery to classroom incubation tanks. While the eggs are incubating, the students learn about salmon and steelhead habitat requirements as well as life cycle, including egg development. In 2 to 3 weeks, depending on water temperature, the eggs begin to hatch and the students watch as the fish swim out of the gravel. The students will release these fry into Rowdy Creek.

Dan Burgess is the Coastal Stream Watershed Coordinator. As such, he wears many hats, one of which is facilitator of the "incubator" program. He brings the tanks and eggs into the classroom and experiences the excitement they generate. His eyes light up as he tells me how "the children crowd around and watch intently as they observe the tiny black eyes within the eggs. The excitement is magnified when the tiny larval fish move within the transparent egg case." The program is dramatic and impacts directly on the students, teaching young people what it takes to create a healthy stream and what could destroy it.

"It starts at the grass roots with children, helping them become stewards in understanding the necessity of good water quality," says Dan.

As with all such programs, funding is crucial. There are too many projects all competing for the same dollars. Dan has immediate need of 12 "chiller units" for the classroom tanks, the incubation aquariums that simulate the real streams. Right now the only way to keep the water in the tanks cold enough is to place them in a larger tank and run continuous tap water through the outer tank and down the drain. Dan feels this sends the wrong message with regard to water conservation, as well as being inefficient. These units cost $600.00 a piece and would mount in the tank, chilling the existing water and eliminating the need for the outer tank. Roxanne is in desperate need of funds for her projects as well. It would be a true disservice to our children to deprive them of the opportunity to learn these valuable lessons about their environment.

If you would like information about starting a similar project in your area or if you or your organization wish to make a contribution, you can contact Roxanne at (530) 345-5265 and Dan at (707) 464-7441.

Previous Articles in the Environmental Stewardship Series:
Beyond Catch and Release
Getting Involved in Your Local Hatchery

Columnist Joan Carter co-owns, with her husband, Dan Carter's Guide Service.