We’re all in this together! Santa Cruz is not connected to any large state water projects and doesn’t accumulate a snowpack, so we depend on healthy rivers, streams, and reservoirs for our drinking water. It takes a community to protect a watershed, and there’s a role for every single person- Including you!
The Coastal Watershed Council’s Watershed Rangers education team is proud to have been part of the 2023 Teacher Leadership Institute for Sustainability (TLIS). This collaboration program hosted by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education provides a space for local organizations to team up with classroom teachers in our shared goal to make “Every Classroom a Green Classroom”. One product from TLIS is this Action Project Guide, designed for a green classroom and applicable to your home, workspace and beyond!
Maria Rocha educating students about ways we can protect steelhead trout and their habitat.
The Action Project Guide offers a variety of tips and ideas to make your home, yard, neighborhoods, parks, classrooms, campuses and offices watershed friendly. No matter your budget or where you live, our watershed needs your help!
Our Watershed Rangers students express an interest in and commitment to watershed protection practices. While making water-saving campaign posters, Sofia (name changed for privacy reasons) was excited to tell her school community how to help steelhead trout migrate. From the very beginning, she already knew the message she wanted to share on her poster. She wanted to tell others that when we take long showers, the fish in our local creeks and rivers are sad, but when we take short showers, the fish are happy! By saving water we are making sure there is enough water for both humans and animals. This is just one example out of hundreds, if not thousands, of action projects for a healthier ecosystem.
This student action project flyer about water conservation is posted on campus to remind students and faculty that we can protect steelhead trout by reducing our water use.
We hope that you will join CWC, the schoolteachers of TLIS 2023 and thousands of our community’s youth in protecting our San Lorenzo River Watershed. Check out our Action Project Guide and start today!
There is a watershed protection action project in this guide for everyone!
With continued support from youth, the education community, community members like you and funding from our partners including Santa Cruz County CORE and the Green Schools Program, our San Lorenzo River continues to inspire us and support a healthy ecosystem that we depend on.