With the 2013-2014 restoration season underway, Point Blue Conservation Science marks over two decades of engaging Bay Area youth in hands-on habitat restoration through the STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) Program. This year will see over 50 restoration projects take place in North Bay counties.
Published: February, 2014
With the 2013-2014 restoration season underway, Point Blue Conservation Science marks over two decades of engaging Bay Area youth in hands-on habitat restoration through the STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) Program. This year will see over 50 restoration projects take place in North Bay counties.
Point Blue’s STRAW Program brings together students, teachers, scientists, ranchers and other members of the community in Marin, Sonoma, Solano, Alameda and Napa Counties to work on stream and wetland restoration projects. Since its inception, the STRAW Program has engaged 33,000 Bay Area students and 400 teachers in 450 stream and wetland restoration projects, resulting in over 30 miles of restored habitat.
"At a time when pollution, habitat loss and climate extremes threaten our streams and wetlands, Bay Area students and teachers are coming together through STRAW’s innovative Program to successfully address these challenges," said Ellie Cohen, Executive Director, Point Blue Conservation Science. "By involving young people in the process, we are inspiring the next generation to protect and conserve the outdoors. Today’s STRAW participants will be tomorrow’s community leaders, scientists and advocates working for nature-based solutions to climate change."
As part of the STRAW Program, students in grades kindergarten through 12 participate in and assess the benefits of restoration projects on human communities, birds, bugs, fish and the soil. During their work in the field, students team up with experts to learn the basic scientific skills that directly link to their in-school science curriculum.
STRAW began in 1992 in the fourth grade classroom of Laurette Rogers (now Point Blue’s STRAW Program Director), when students took on a restoration project at Stemple Creek in Sonoma and Marin Counties. Working with ranchers and scientists, they planted native willows and restored the habitat for the endangered California freshwater shrimp. Since then, the STRAW Program has grown exponentially, engaging 3,500 students in about 50 restorations each year.
Point Blue’s STRAW Program proactively addresses the negative impacts of climate change, habitat loss and degradation on streams and wetlands and our communities in the Bay Area. Streams and wetlands—part of the Bay Area’s vital watersheds—are critical for many wildlife species as well as for storing, filtering and gradually releasing fresh water, for slowing flood waters and for reducing flood impacts on nature and human infrastructure. Restoring these habitats provides more resilience in the face of increasing sea levels, drought, storms and flooding.
STRAW’s restorations are designed to be "climate-smart." They take into account projected increases in drought and flooding, as well as changes in wildlife migration patterns. These climate-smart restorations are designed to withstand a variety of climate conditions while providing food and shelter for animals when they need it.
Students participating in STRAW learn about and restore native vegetation on creek banks and in wetland transition areas (where tidal marsh meets upland habitat), stabilizing eroding banks, filtering pollution, slowing down floodwaters and creating lasting wildlife habitat. The STRAW participants learn that they can make a positive difference in the face of climate change.
