Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project

VOLUME 8 ISSUE 1 - FALL 2003

Spotlight || What's Happening || Wish List

Link to Previous Newsletters:
Summer 2002 || Fall 2002 || Winter 2002 || Spring 2003 || Summer 2003 || Current

Chuck Vaughn
Editor's note: Chuck Vaughn is one of the RVOEP's new board members.
I work at the University of California Hopland Research and Extension Center (aka the Hopland Field Station). I have bird watched casually most of my life, at least since Mrs. Strumpf's bird unit in the third grade. My wife, Barbara, teaches first grade at Yokayo Elementary School. Both of our daughters, Darcy and Sara, attended school in the Ukiah Unified School District, and received far better educations in their "formative' years than I did.

Almost 40% of the Russian River's natural watershed is in Mendocino County. The undammed reach of the upper Russian River winds through Mendocino County for 45 miles from its headwaters in Redwood Valley, yet there are only two places along this entire stretch where the public is encouraged to hike and visit the River: the Ukiah City Park at the east end of Gobbi Street and the Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project.

The Point Reyes Bird Observatory recently completed a study on breeding bird populations in the mixed conifer/hardwood vegetation in northeastern Mendocino County. Except that the dominant hardwood is Brewer's Oak, the habitat is not dissimilar from that at the Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project. Their results revealed that these mixed conifer/hardwood forests support bird populations nearly as diverse and abundant as the riparian areas along the Sacramento River. I have had the opportunity to bird watch with students and teachers at the RVOEP on a number of occasions, and have always been impressed with the diverse habitats and bird numbers there.

The RVOEP provides our school children with access to not only the River, but also an array of exciting outdoor educational opportunities to which the site is dedicated. It is a unique and invaluable outdoor educational resource. Hopefully some fortunate youngster can receive the same kind of spark there that I did from Mrs. Strumpf so long ago.

Jennifer Harris - Moving On
Little did I realize eleven years ago what would develop when Spencer Brewer asked me if I would like to participate in setting up an outdoor classroom on property owned by the school district. In 1995 we obtained permission from the UUSD to apply for a site development grant, which was awarded. We started site preparation in 1996, and the first students came on field trips in 1997. At first the educational program was run by AmeriCorps volunteer Rebecca Grant and later by Jessica Fiske. The educational program expanded when Ginger Cortez served as Educational Coordinator. Our dream had always been to have a credentialed teacher at the site and with the backing of an anonymous donor this has been achieved. Helen Menasian is starting her third year as Educational Coordinator, and under her leadership the educational program has grown and expanded.

I have learned so much from coordinating this project since its inception. I have learned to be a grant writer and fundraiser, managing to keep the operation in the black. I have been pleased to see the collaboration between the foresters and the environmentalists who find out that they have the same aims when they sit down to share ideas. Most of all I have enjoyed working with the other outstanding volunteers without whom the RVOEP would not exist. With people like Helen, Cathy Monroe, Bill Smith, Duane Wells, Chuck Williams, Tim Walls, Clare Nunamaker, Jerry Cook and Spencer Brewer the RVOEP has managed to keep going. The staff at the UUSD office has been most cooperative in helping to learn their protocol and guiding us over the rough spots. And my heartfelt thanks to the UUSD Board for their continued support of the RVOEP.

When over 10,500 students have received instruction about their relationship with the environment all of the hard work is worthwhile. Visiting the site when a class is there is so exciting; the students are so eager to learn and participate in the excellent educational activities that are happening. As I move out of the area I will miss the action at the RVOEP but know that it will continue to grow and expand under the excellent leadership of the Advisory Board. My thanks to the community for helping to make this all happen.

The fundraising car wash on which we collaborated with the South Ukiah Rotary Club was a resounding success. With the help of students at various schools collecting pledges, we raised over $2,000 to help pay for bus transportation costs for next year. In addition we received a matching grant from the WalMart Foundation for $1,000. The RVOEP greatly appreciates the cooperation of the South Ukiah Rotary Club and Carol Myers in making this fundraiser such a success. Our sincerest thanks to Mary Crandall at WalMart for helping us to obtain the matching grant.

We have also received a grant from the J. R. Long Foundation (Long's Drugs) for $9,000 to help pay for bus transportation. We should be able to fund bus transportation for the next two years! Our thanks go to the J. R. Long Foundation for the grant.

Young tree planters inspect their trees down by the river.

Our tree planting as part of the stream restoration project is coming along nicely. Tim Walls has been watering the plants this summer; an irrigation system is being installed by Tim, Jeff Harris and members of the Coyote Valley Tribal EPA. Our thanks to them for making this happen. We are most grateful to Jim Mayfield of Rainbow Irrigation for the big discount given on the materials needed for this effort. We get so much help from so many willing community members. Thanks to all for this cooperation.

We have new T-shirts with a silk-screened design done by Perkowski's. They are available in both youth and adult sizes for $10. If you are interested in buying one call Helen at 485-0690 ext. 138 or send her an email at hmenasian@pacific.net.

Since we are losing long time board chair Jennifer Harris, Chuck Vaughn has joined the board and Lori Brodoski will be serving as membership chair.

Don't forget to visit our web site at www.rvoep.org to find out the latest news and see photographs of our program. We hope to see you at some of the upcoming workshops; be sure to check the calendar in this newsletter.

Educational Program

Over the past two years the RVOEP educational team has been working to develop a strong K-6 Outdoor Environmental Education Program. Emphasis in our initial planning stages has been on:

Designing age-appropriate field trip and classroom programs with specific goals and objectives that support the Calif. State Science Standards.
Involving students in "hands-on" learning activities that focus on major ecological concepts and lead to an understanding and appreciation of the interrelationships which exist in our natural ecosystems.
Promoting a sense of wonder and adventure for a natural place.
Encouraging a sense of stewardship toward the natural communities of our county and specifically the RVOEP.
Providing a model for environmentally sound practices and lifestyles.
Encouraging participants to apply what they have learned by participating in an action project such as recycling, stream cleanup, or habitat restoration.
Working with teachers to tie field experiences at the RVOEP to classroom curriculum.

With these goals in mind, during the 2002-03 school year we provided an "Outdoor School" program to over 2200 students at the RVOEP and related classroom programs to almost 1500 students.

As we build our offerings, the coming school year will provide some exciting opportunities for both teachers and students. On the evening of Friday, October 3rd, we will hold our third annual NIGHT CAMP program for those students (and their parents) keeping Moon Journals as part of an integrated language arts and science unit. This will be a fun evening of looking through telescopes, taking night hikes, calling owls, learning about night insects, and hearing star myths and legends.

On Saturday, October 4th, the Academy of Sciences will present two related K-8 teacher workshops at the RVOEP. These workshops are guaranteed to excite teachers and students. One will focus on Owl Pellets and the other, "Herbivore, Omnivore, Carnivore: A Study of Structure and Function," will focus on what we can learn about an animal from the study of its skull. The Academy will make available a special kit of supportive materials for teachers participating in the workshops to use in their classroom. Teachers are welcome to bring their school-age children, and the workshops will be open to other families as space permits.

K-6 Outdoor School field trip programs will begin on September 8th. Bus transportation for classes will again be provided by the RVOEP thanks to donations from the Longs Foundation and the Sonoma County Water Agency, along with the fundraising efforts of the South Valley Rotary Club and the local schools who participated in our Car Wash-a-thon. Visit our web site at http://www.rvoep.org to learn about the various RVOEP field trip programs. The Educational Coordinator, Helen Menasian, is also available to work with teachers to tie a trip to the RVOEP to specific classroom curriculum needs. Teachers that attended fall field trip programs last year will be rescheduled for this fall. New teachers and other teachers interested in scheduling a field trip should contact Helen soon.

Help us plan to best meet your needs! Early this fall we will conduct a short survey to help determine what type of workshop opportunities, field trip programs, and winter classroom programs will be of the most interest to teachers. Teachers can really help us out by completing and returning their survey forms.

Visit the contact page to schedule a field trip, volunteer, or to make an inquiry.

We are in need of the following items:

Interesting skulls from local wildlife
New lap top computer
Hoe
Long handled clippers
More docents!

If you can donate any of these items please call Helen at 485-0690.

Spotlight || What's Happening || Wish List

Link to Previous Newsletters:
Summer 2002 || Fall 2002 || Winter 2002 || Spring 2003 || Summer 2003 || Current

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