Tonight, Steve and I will be going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to see presentations by local teens on environmental projects they’ve been working on during this school year. The program is called the Student Oceanography Club, and it combines monthly informational meetings, monthly field experiences, and team conservation projects. Our daughter and three of her classmates formed a team this year and have worked hard on a restoration project by the wetlands on the neighboring property. Amelia and her friends have been interested in environmental action for some time, and had already formed their own environmental group they called TREE (Time to Rescue Endangered Earth) with our older daughter. But the aquarium program helped them to focus their efforts, work on a timeline, and define, plan, and carry through on a project. It was a big time commitment, but it has been worth the effort to see the kids learn to work together, struggling to break down a large task into manageable pieces.
The site that the “Wetland Warriors” chose to work on was a small plot at the bottom of a hill right on the other side of our property line. This spot has been subject to a lot of sedimentation over the years. The previous tenant farmers on the adjacent hillside did not provide adequate cover cropping in the winter to prevent severe erosion during winter rains. Since the Santa Cruz Land Trust bought the property, the steeper part of the hillside has been taken out of production and we are now leasing the upper portion. The lower portion has been in an effective rye cover crop the past two years. This spot also is where any water run-off from our property’s back hill ends up as well as water that flows through our riparian corridor if it rains hard enough. (The riparian corridor is designed to slow down water run-off from our upper fields and filter out nutrients). In short, the spot the kids chose is one of historical high impact and a good candidate for restoration efforts.
The restoration plot goes right to the water’s edge in winter and had been overcome by hemlock and nettles. There is a lot of native vegetation on both sides of the plot, so it is like an island of invasive weeds. They brought in goats for a couple weeks to trample and eat down the hemlock, pulled a lot out by hand, and then mulched with straw (donated by the Santa Cruz Land Trust) to prevent the weeds from coming back. With help from Watsonville Wetlands Watch, the Santa Cruz Land Trust, and restorationist Laura Kummerer they planted several native grasses and sedges. The plot will take a lot of ongoing care to help these new plants outcompete the hemlock, but the kids already have documented increased diversity of plant life, even while the hemlock and nettles start to edge their way back in. (This will be a lesson in how hard it is to keep the weeds out over time!)
Tonight, the kids will present a Power Point presentation of their project, and we’ll get to see what all the teams from other schools have been working on. I am grateful to the Aquarium for offering this amazing program. It is a truly wonderful way to support teens in doing something worthwhile and fun, including all the educational extras of field trips and talks by guest scientists. Amelia and her group will be doing it again next year with a new project!
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