A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 30, 2008
3. Watersheds -
Students school biologists on greening up their campus
Sacramento
By M.S. Enkoji, staff writer
Al Gore's got nothing on Jared Landberg.
The 11-year-old fifth-grader at
OK, maybe Jared needs a little more schooling on how much water it takes to keep those greens green.
Otherwise, he and three of his classmates were brimming with ecologically sound ideas, throwing out terms like "drip irrigation" and "butterfly preserves" and "solar panels." How about a place for ladybugs to land, a gazebo for a shady retreat?
"I can come here to ride my bike," Jared said, lobbying for a bike trail under rustling oak and eucalyptus trees.
The
About two dozen federal scientists and administrators sat in classroom chairs a smidge too small Tuesday, learning how they can help other schools plan and execute the same kinds of habitats on campuses around the country.
Schools interested in replacing wide expanses of unused lawn could create outdoor laboratories for science students and useful terrain for diverse activities such as an outdoor retreat for studying. Pages in biology books will come to life, the scientists said.
The team will be on the school campus this week to get a plan under way, which could take as long as 18 months before landscaping and planting are done. The Fair Oaks school was chosen because parents had contacted Fish and Wildlife about replicating what the agency has done with schools in the
The criteria for choosing schools have not been decided, said Carolyn Kolstad, another Fish and Wildlife biologist. But urban schools could be more likely candidates.
The Fish and Wildlife region of
A key part of the planning involves getting feedback from parents – who could be contributing elbow grease – and students.
Jared did his share.
A pond would be nice, he said, walking an acre of wooded land with biologist Chantel Jimenez.
When Jimenez suggested that the pond could be dangerous at a school where children as young as 5 attend, Jared crossed his arms to ponder.
"How about a cool little picket fence that you see in those happy '50s movies?" he suggested.
The other students strolling with Jimenez chimed in with their budding sense of aesthetics: no chain link fences like the one enclosing the ball field. Too ugly.
Elyssa Clauson, 10, envisions a desertscape, there in the back, she said, pointing to an off-limits unkempt sweep of tall grass. "Sand and cactus could go there – and some lizards."
She held her ground when the boys pooh-poohed her idea as impractical because the lizards would slither off.
"The fence can have small holes," she said.
Sam Tayarani, 11, said that a lot of students – the older ones – pine for a quiet place to study away from smaller kids, he said.
"They know the buzzwords," said Jimenez. But the new landscape could actually broaden their understanding of the terms they've picked up, such as how drip irrigation conserves water, she said.
The fifth-graders, one of about a dozen groups who walked with biologists, were ecstatic to be polled for their opinions.
"Usually at the school, we never get to pitch our ideas," said Jared, who gladly sacrificed his recess time to participate.
Dana Davies, 10, spread her arms wide to take in the rambling campus. "Now we're helping the school," she said.
To get your school involved, e-mail carolyn_kolstad@ fws.gov, one of the federal biologists.#
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/900888.html
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