Suisun Marsh Watershed Program Brings the Classroom Out in the Open

Special to Dixon Patch

Each fall day, the sun rises later and there is a little more chill in the air - a serene time to venture outside and see what’s happening in the wild parts of our world.

Thirty three sixth grade classes -- more than 1,100 students from Crystal Middle School in Suisun City, Grange and Sullivan Middle Schools in Fairfield, Vaca Pena and Orchard Elementary in Vacaville, Center Elementary in the Travis District and Solano Middle in Vallejo -- will answer to the Autumn calling over the next several months, traveling to the Suisun Marsh to explore the largest contiguous brackish tidal marsh remaining on the west coast of North America.

These intrepid student explorers are taking part in the 2011 Suisun Marsh Watershed Program, where they will spend a day trying on the roles of soil scientists, hydrologists, botanists, and poets as they hike through one of the last intact wetlands in the Bay Area.

The students will learn and experience things totally new to many of them. Anmo Gill, at Center Elementary said "I liked seeing the barn owl because I never saw an owl in real life, only in tv and books,” and many of his classmates felt the same.

Some kids are inspired: Cecilia Barajs, also at Center Elementary says "My favorite part of the program was the "Synthetic Sea" video because it makes me want to sign up for a program that helps to clean up our communities!"

The 1,050-acre Rush Ranch property, owned by the Solano Land Trust, represents more than 10 percent of the remaining wetland area in California. It is an amazing resource and is available to the public every day. Entrance is free.

The popular program was developed by the Solano and Suisun Resource Conservation Districts four years ago, and has been completely funded for the last four years by the Solano County Water Agency. This support, without which the program could not take place, has been continued for another four years.

The program involves three in-classroom preparatory lessons, a nearly five-hour trip to the marsh, a student-led poster session about endangered/threatened species in the marsh, and a final in-classroom lesson on marine debris.

Marianne Butler, Education Program Manager for Solano RCD, has managed the program from the beginning. She says it is a major goal to expand it to reach as many 6^th graders as possible. This year, additional funding is being provided by a grant through Solano Community College in cooperation with the Solano County Office of Education. Fairfield Suisun Sewer District also provides support to fund student journals and busing.

Martha Rocha, Education Coordinator of Suisun RCD teaches the program’s classroom lessons. Students learn about the significance of the wetlands and the watershed, resident endangered plant and animal species, factors that affect the health of the unique marsh ecosystem, and how they impact their watershed.

During the five-hour Rush Ranch Field Trip, students experience real-life examples of human impacts on the marsh and its inhabitants. They perform hands-on experiments with the soil, water, and plant systems that are part of the Suisun Marsh ecosystem, take a nature walk and then sit quietly and write about their experiences and impressions.

Solano RCD works with multiple partners to provide students from elementary through high school with standards-based, hands-on learning experiences in the watersheds they live in. More information about the Suisun Marsh Watershed & Wetland Program and other school-based watershed education programs is available from the Solano RCD Resource Conservation District.  Contact Marianne Butler at 707-301-5778.