Sonoma Ecology Center’s outdoor classrooms

Thanks to some dry weather in May and June, the Sonoma Ecology Center’s Watershed Education programs finished the year with exciting classroom projects.

The nonprofit’s in-house educators, Holland Gistelli and Tony Passantino, brought their Wildlife Defenders and Water Wonders programs – for second graders and fifth graders, respectively – to classrooms around the Valley.

At Flowery, Dunbar and Prestwood elementary schools, dozens of Valley second-graders learned about the oak life cycle, investigated animal skulls to determine their adaptations, discovered the importance of habitat, and had a special presentation from Wildlife Fawn Rescue. The students took a field trip to Montini Open Space Preserve for first-hand experience of the oak woodland ecosystem. (Classes at El Verano, Sassarini, Kenwood, St. Francis, and Sonoma Charter elementary schools also participated in Wildlife Defenders this spring.)

Meanwhile, fifth-graders at Sonoma Charter, Kenwood, Sassarini and Flowery elementary schools learned about watersheds through the lens of their own Sonoma Creek Watershed. They reviewed the water cycle, explored watershed geography by creating 3D models, researched types of water pollution and their prevention, and even dissected salmon. These classes took field trips to the headwaters of Sonoma Creek at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, where they explored streamside tree habitats, embarked on a “quest” hike and tested water quality.