A second-grade after-school student at Bay View Elementary School whips her hair in a circle, flinging water drops all over her fellow Watershed Rangers classmates as they squeal in a fit of laughter. Although the rainy season has not yet arrived in Santa Cruz and it’s a hot, dry Wednesday afternoon, Sofia’s hair is dripping with rainwater. Students participating in CWC’s Watershed Rangers education program know that hydrology, or the study of water, can be tons of fun.

On this after-school lesson at Bay View Elementary School, students have been exploring the phenomenon of how and why there can still be water flowing in the San Lorenzo River even though it has hardly rained in five months. Using sponges, buckets of water and native plants in 1-gallon containers, students discover that less water drips out from the bottom of the container than they poured in, and that water is still dripping out very slowly from the plant’s container after ten minutes. Naturally, the students ask if they can use the sponges to “test” how well some of their friends absorb water. A few volunteers, including Sofia, line up to experience how much water the soil and healthy roots of native plants (sponges) can hold as it slowly seeps into the river (onto a giggling Sofia’s hair) over time. As the giggles simmer down, we share our conclusions together – healthy soils and native plants can store water and release it slowly all the way through the summer. That’s one reason why the river has water even when it hasn’t rained.

In closing, students are asked where the water we used in this lesson came from. “The sink.”

And where does sink water come from? “The pipes.”

And where do the pipes get water from? “The river?”

And where does the river get its water in the summer? “The soil and the plants!”

And where do the plants and soil get the water? “The rain!”

So, where does the sink water really come from? “It’s the winter rain!”

As we prepare for the upcoming rainy season, CWC’s Watershed Rangers are happy to tell you about the pathways rain take after it falls from the clouds over the San Lorenzo River Watershed. We are excited for rain to make our soil loose and workable for youth to plant native species along CWC’s San Lorenzo River habitat enhancement site during Youth River Health Day field trips. We look forward to a wide-open river mouth and high river flows so we can continue to learn about the migration of steelhead trout. With the rains, our mountain forests, city parks, and cracks on campus blacktops become verdant ecosystems that beg to be observed and monitored. This is going to be the best winter ever!

Learn More about CWC’s Watershed Rangers:

Summer Adventure on the Roaring Camp Train!

Over the past six weeks, 33 students from Summer Fun! at Nueva Vista Community Resources have explored, discovered, and enjoyed protecting the lower San Lorenzo River. The adventures we had this summer were memorable for everyone and we did not want the fun to end, so...

Watershed Rangers on KSQD Radio: Budding Scientists Along the San Lorenzo River’s Edge

The Coastal Watershed Council’s Watershed Rangers youth education program has three core tenets: (1) Explore the San Lorenzo River, (2) Learn ways to protect the San Lorenzo River, and (3) Share what you have learned with others.   During the 2022-2023 school year,...

Seeing Clearly: Measuring Water Quality with Watershed Rangers

  By Erin Loury, CWC Communications AssistantEarlier this spring, I had the opportunity to join an after-school field trip to the San Lorenzo River with students from Gault Elementary School. After a few months of assisting the Coastal Watershed Council part-time with...

Green Classroom Action Projects for Everyone!

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...

Fiesta de los Artes: Combining Science, Art and Community

The Coastal Watershed Council (CWC) has been working closely with Bay View Elementary School in Santa Cruz, CA for many years. Aside from school holidays and breaks, it’s very uncommon that a week goes by without CWC staff stepping onto the Bay View campus at least a...

Loving the San Lorenzo River

These days, Santa Cruz’s beautiful waves and beaches are probably its most loved and celebrated natural resource, and understandably so. However, did you know that historic communities, beginning with the Uypi tribe (the original Santa Cruzans), and subsequently the...

Climate Change Education in Watershed Rangers

Watershed Rangers, the Coastal Watershed Council’s youth education program, offers a myriad of opportunities for local students. Through the program, youth get a chance to study native animals and plants, connect with classmates through hands on, nature-related games...

Welcoming Maria Rocha as CWC’s Environmental Educator!

This fall, the Coastal Watershed Council welcomed Maria Rocha as our new Environmental Educator! Already, Maria has led engaging classroom lessons, field trips and after-school programs with our Watershed Rangers program. In her role, she engages elementary...

CWC Educators Welcomed Back to School with Fist Bumps and High Fives

The Coastal Watershed Council operates Watershed Rangers youth field trips to the San Lorenzo River. These trips are incredible opportunities to bring local youth to sites along the lower San Lorenzo that CWC has been visiting for years and considers an extension of...

Watershed Rangers Impact Beyond the Environment

CWC’s Watershed Rangers afterschool program engages students to learn about and take action to help the San Lorenzo River. And it is more than that. A key aspect of the program is the impact it has on youth beyond what they learn about the environment. With a focus on...
Facebook Comments