GET CONNECTED WITH THE LOS ANGELES RIVER AND EXPLORE ACTIVITIES AND TOOLS
TO TAKE ACTION TOWARDS RESTORATION AND REVITALIZATION
Part Two of A Watershed Moment takes us on a hands-on exploration of the LA River. Starting at the Dominguez Gap Wetlands, we’ll travel upstream to see where concrete meets the natural soft-bottom river. Get the opportunity to connect with organizations working to restore and revitalize the LA River as we explore Marsh Park through a student-led wildlife activity. Join us even if you missed Part One, a day of workshops on LA-based water issues at Environmental Charter High School (see descriptions below). RSVP required, registration is now closed.
LOS ANGELES RIVER FIELD TRIP [PAST EVENT]
Sat, Mar 21, 2015
Schedule At A Glance
Download Schedule + Driving Directions
8:00am Bus leaves from Environmental Charter High School (16315 Grevillea Ave, Lawndale, CA 90260)
9:00-10:00am Explore Dominguez Gap Wetlands (Entrance at W Del Amo Blvd + Oregon Ave, Long Beach 90805, follow the path to enter the wetlands – map)
10:15am-11:00am Travel to Marsh Park (2944 Gleneden Street Los Angeles, CA 90039)
11:00am-12:15pm Explore Marsh Park
12:30-2:00pm Lunch Panel on LA River Projects with lunch provided by Antigua Coffee House | @AntiguaCoffee
3:00pm Bus returns to Environmental Charter High School
A WATERSHED MOMENT [PAST EVENT]
Sat, Feb 21, 2015
Environmental Charter High School
16315 Grevillea Ave, Lawndale, CA 90260
Download Printed Program
Join dozens of Los Angeles organizations and educators at Environmental Charter High School for workshops on local + global water issues, watersheds, where we get our water, school gardens, LA River revitalization projects, international water rights movements, DIY rain barrels, water wise gardening + a special networking happy hour. Leave with blueprints and curriculum to empower students to take action in their communities!
8:30-9:00am Breakfast + Registration
9:00-9:45am Welcome + Keynote Kickoff: Mark Gold, UCLA Institute of the Environment + Sustainability [Room 133] @UCLAIoES
10:00-11:15am Explore: Lectures & Presentations
11:15am-12:30pm Lunch + Tour of Award-Winning Environmental Charter High School Campus + Lunch Tables:
12:30-1:30pm Explore: Lectures & Presentations
1:45-2:45pm Action: Hands-On Solutions
3:00-5:00pm DRANK: A Happy Hour at Barsha (917 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266)
Follow A #Watershed Moment Partners on Twitter
WORKSHOP MATERIALS
Available for download here.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: MARK GOLD
UCLA INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT + SUSTAINABILITY
Saturday, Feb 21
Mark has worked extensively over the last 20 years in the field of coastal protection and water pollution. In particular he has worked on research projects on urban runoff pollution, DDT and PCB contamination in fish, and the health risks of swimming at runoff contaminated beaches. He created Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card, and has authored or co-authored numerous California coastal protection, water quality and environmental education bills.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
Saturday, Feb 21
Fight the Drought! Using Green Ambassadors Curriculum to Host a Student-Led Water Symposium [EXPLORE 10:00am-11:15am, Room 120]Carolyn Lam + Jasmine Chau + Athziri Madrigal + Kayla Johnson + Danny Sanchez + Vanesa Iniguez (ECHS Students) + Betsy Rivera (Green Ambassadors Teacher) | ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
In five weeks over 120 sophomore students from Environmental Charter High School were able to organize, plan, promote, and host the Water Symposium, a water conservation and drought awareness event. Students worked in teams that covered details such as public outreach and social media, event planning, games, activities and presentations. This workshop will lead you through the logistics of planning a large-scale event using the Green Ambassadors curriculum, as well as provide insight into how to inspire and create a student-centered event — from the viewpoint of student’s themselves. [Science, English, Grades: 9-12]
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From Guatemala to LA: Water Projects in Latin America Can Teach Us a Thing or Two [EXPLORE 10:00am-11:15am, Room 130]
Brenda Yancor + Johanna Iraheta | LOS ANGELES ROOTED
Brenda Yancor is a part time gardener & coordinator, but a full time student of life who loves sharing the experiences shared abroad and at home as often as possible.
Our workshop will highlight water issues encountered on a journey through Mexico and Guatemala, including water stewardship issues and water conservation techniques. We’ll highlight how to build our connection to water with everyday practices and the water stewardship techniques of a transformative youth summer camp called Los Angeles Rooted, which aims to create youth leaders rooted in ancestral wisdom, environmental stewardship, self love and community accountability. [History, Spanish, Grades: 9-12]
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Empowering Elementary Teachers in Water and Sustainability [EXPLORE 10:00am-11:15am, Room 134]
Erica Seubert + DJ Kast | JOINT EDUCATIONAL PROJECT, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Dr. Erica Seubert is the manager of the Boeing Sponsored Water and Sustainability Project run out of JEP at USC and is adjunct faculty at Pasadena City College and CSU Fullerton. In addition to being the STEM program manager for the USC Joint Educational Project, Dieuwertje “DJ” Kast has written curriculum and held leadership roles for both USC Wonderkids, USC Young Scientist Program, the USC QuikSCience program, and the USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI) program.
Learn about the successes and trials of the past three years of the Water Project. We have installed educational water systems at each of our participating schools surrounding USC. We will discuss how these hands-on campus systems were designed and constructed as well as how the systems can be used in engaging lessons for fourth and fifth graders. [Science, Math, Grades: 3-6]
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History of the Dominguez Watershed: From Paradise to Concrete [EXPLORE 10:00am-11:15am, Room 131]
Kelley Dawdy | FRIENDS OF GARDENA WILLOWS WETLAND PRESERVE
Kelley Dawdy is a professor at CSU Dominguez Hills and a board member of the Friends of the Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve.
The Dominguez Slough was once a land of Willows, Sycamores, Oaks and racist place names. As the City of Los Angeles and others grew up and into the seasonal watershed, many changes were to take place: roads and racetracks, farms and orchards, crayfish and toads. Join us on this adventure through the history of the South Bay and the Dominguez Watershed. [History, Science, Grades: K-12]
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Planning an Interdisciplinary Benchmark Using Ancient Egypt as a Case Study [EXPLORE 10:00am-11:15am, Room 133]
Olivia Rotondi + Lauren Middleton | ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER MIDDLE SCHOOL
Olivia Rotondi Penka and Lauren Middleton are a 6th grade English and history teachers at Environmental Charter Middle School-Gardena.
Transport your students back to ancient Egypt to solve the Nile river crisis. In this interdisciplinary benchmark project students learned about the watershed through the lens of ancient Egypt and applied their knowledge to build water filters to solve the Nile river crisis. Find out how the 6th grade team created this IBM and learn how to plan your own interdisciplinary benchmark that incorporates the new science and engineering standards. [Math, Science, Language, History, Grades: 6-8]
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Water is Life: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Water [EXPLORE 12:30pm-1:30pm, Room 133]
Sara Diaz + Danielle Kelsick | ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
What happens when teachers ask students to make meaning for themselves? In this workshop, you will learn how we challenged our students to think for themselves through an interdisciplinary exploration of water. Using Beasts of the Southern Wild as our model text, we asked students to grapple with the overlapping significance of water in literary, sociopolitical and scientific contexts. In this workshop, we will walk you through our process of interdisciplinary unit-planning from phase one to the final product. You will have the opportunity to check out sample student work and talk to our students about their learning experience. [English, Spanish, Chemistry, Grades: 10-12]
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What’s In Your Water?: Engaging Students in Water-Related Issues [EXPLORE 12:30pm-1:30pm, Room 130]
Leigh Fauber + Melissa Morlok | MILKEN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
Leigh Fauber hails from the state of Alabama, has lived in the Los Angeles area for the last 10 years, and has experience teaching English and science in public and private schools for the past 15 years. Melissa Morlok holds bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biological sciences from UC Irvine, a master’s degree in inorganic chemistry from Columbia University, and is currently in her tenth year of teaching high school science at Milken Community Schools in Los Angeles.
This presentation is a “how-to†guide on developing engaging water-related curriculum. From local to global issues, we will share our interdisciplinary approach through open discussion and hands-on activities that focus on water rights, source protection, distribution methods, and conservation. Participants in this workshop will also receive abundant digital resources, including our essential questions, sample pacing guide, activities, and web resources. [English, Math, Science, History, Grades: 7-12]
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Urban Acupuncture: Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference [EXPLORE 12:30pm-1:30pm, Room 131]
Melanie Winter | THE RIVER PROJECT + WATER LA
Melanie Winter, founder and director of The River Project, has been working on water, land use, climate resilience and environmental justice issues for over 20 years.
Urban Acupuncture. Los Angeles’ three big climate challenges are drought, flood and fire. Water LA utilizes an integrated approach to land use – down to the parcel scale – to support and engage individual action in accomplishing climate resilience. Through partnerships and collaboration, Water LA provides tools and assistance to help Angelenos Capture, Conserve and Reuse our local water resources. The urban acupuncture approach can be utilized on school campuses to engage students in a meaningful design approach to campus greening. [History, Science, Philosophy, Grades: K-12]
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Water water water water water water: Math Modeling for Hands-on Campus Greening [EXPLORE 12:30pm-1:30pm, Outside, Meet in Room 120]
Amy Johnson + Mandy Breuer | ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
Tackle a real environmental problem using real math modeling to discover a solution. This 6-12 workshop offers an authentic modeling activity for math, science and humanities teachers. Hands-on outdoor activities combine with math reasoning to meet the for Mathematical Practice and engage students in real life problem-solving. [Math, Grades: 6-12]
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Inspire Solutions to Plastic Pollution in Your Classroom [ACTION 1:45pm-2:45pm, Room 131]
Katie Allen | ALGALITA MARINE RESEARCH + EDUCATION
As a leader in plastic pollution science education and Algalita’s Education Coordinator, Katie Allen encourages students to live a life of curiosity and discovery while inspiring them to make positive change in the world by reducing plastic waste in their local communities.
Algalita Marine Research and Education is a nonprofit committed to solving the plastic pollution crisis in our oceans. We have launched a wave of youth-led action campaigns throughout the world to reduce plastic waste by education, motivating, and empowering youth. Learn how YOU can bridge real-world science and advocacy to inspire solutions to plastic pollution in your classroom. This workshop will cover topics such as the basic science behind plastic pollution, ways to teach effective environmental science, and how to engage your students in successful action projects. [Grades: K-12]
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Field Trips to Engage Your Students: From the Forest to the Sea [ACTION 1:45pm-2:45pm, Room 130]
Edward Belden + Robin McManus | NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION + ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER AT HYPERION
Edward is a native of Los Angeles, with a background in Environmental Sciences, Planning and Sustainability, who loves observing nature, hiking, biking, leading youth into the forest, green building, and concocting desserts in his spare time. Robin McManus is the ELC Project Coordinator and a former educator whose mission is to challenge today’s youth to become environmental stewards.
Learn about the connections between our mountains and our communities and the ecosystem services the mountains provide. You’ll hear examples of how solutions such as habitat protections and restoration, water replenishment projects and fire recovery in the upper watershed affect all of us living downstream. Participate in the Living Learning Laboratory program and engage after the forest trip with the iNaturalist app! [Grades: 9-12] — Through interactive exhibits, Environmental Learning Center visitors learn how their actions impact the future of water in Los Angeles. They are challenged to partner with LA Sanitation as we manage wastewater treatment, watershed protection and solid resources. Visitors to the ELC of all ages will be inspired to become environmental stewards. [Science, Geography, Language, Math, Grades: 4-12]
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Build a DIY Rain Barrel [ACTION 1:45pm-2:45pm, Outside, Meet in Room 120]
Green Ambassadors Student Interns | ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
These students participate in a rigorous after school Green Ambassadors Internship, where they teach workshops to middle schoolers and community members, conduct sustainability audits, and design service learning projects to address environmental justice issues. See step-by-step how to construct a rain barrel for your campus! Limited barrels will also be for sale at $50/each. [Science, Math, Grades: 8-12]
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Water Wise Gardens To Transform Your Campus [ACTION 1:45pm-2:45pm, Outside, Meet in Room 134]
Mike Pack + Steve Williams | ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL + SURFRIDER FOUNDATION
How did one high school campus transform from concrete to riches? With water wise plants, ocean friendly gardens, permaculture techniques and community collaborations, Environmental Charter High School has become an oasis for plants, animals and humans. Come to an outdoor workshop and learn how to design + implement a water wise ocean friendly garden. Learn how to propagate plants for free and involve students in service learning. Enjoy a great hour in the sun! [Science, History, Geography, Grades: K-12]
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Become a Green School [LUNCH TABLES 11:15am-12:30pm, Courtyard]
Arlae Castellanos | GREEN SCHOOLS ALLIANCE
Addressing climate and conservation challenges, GSA’s mission is to connect and empower schools worldwide to lead the transformation to global sustainability. The Green Schools Alliance believes that schools are hubs of communities worldwide that build resilience, transform markets, policy and behavior, and prepare the next generation of innovators. Uniquely created by schools for schools to provide tools to manage change, the Green Schools Alliance is a global Peer-to-Peer Network of pre-K to grade 13 schools represented by sustainability coordinators, faculty, staff and students working together to solve climate and conservation challenges. Since 2007, the Alliance has grown to include 5,000 schools in 43+ U.S. states and 44+ countries. [Grades: K-12]
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Empowering Neighborhoods One Vacant Lot at a Time [LUNCH TABLES 11:15am-12:30pm, Courtyard]
Viviana Franco + Maria De Leon | FROM LOT TO SPOT
Viviana Franco, born and raised in Hawthorne, CA, is the Executive Director, who founded From Lot to Spot as a direct response to the relationship between lack of green space and the quality of life in low-income neighborhoods in 2007.
From Lot to Spot was founded in 2007 as a direct result of the relationship between lack of accessible green space and the quality of life in low-income neighborhoods. FLTS’s unique approach involves grassroot, community engagement to ensure disadvantaged communities contribute their voice in developing healthy spaces in their neighborhoods. In the last five years, FLTS has worked on healthy living community engagement projects in several low-income, communities of color. The idea comes from looking at neighborhoods that are in need of social and recreational spaces or ‘spots’. These ‘spots’ are necessary for children to play, for adults to engage in health and wellness opportunities and for neighborhoods to grow and thrive. We aim to convert vacant LOTS into urban SPOTS and we do so by planning with communities, not just for them. [Grades: K-12]
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South Bay Water Education Opportunities [LUNCH TABLES 11:15am-12:30pm, Courtyard]
Darryl Ramos-Young | WEST BASIN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
Darryl Ramos-Young is the Education Coordinator for West Basin Municipal Water District and manages the free water education programs available to 3rd-12th grade students attending schools located in the agency’s service area.
West Basin Municipal Water District is an innovative public agency that provides drinking and recycled water, water efficiency and water education programs to approximately 1 million residents within is coastal Los Angeles service area. Private and public schools located in its service area can benefit from the following free water education programs: water education center and water recycling facility field trips, classroom presentations and an annual student water conservation art contest. Further education programs information can be found by visiting www.westbasin.org. [Grades: K-12]
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Generation Earth + Campus Greening Projects [LUNCH TABLES 11:15am-12:30pm, Courtyard]
Eddie Murphy | TREEPEOPLE
Generation Earth is an environmental education program of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, and is presented by TreePeople in middle schools and high schools throughout Los Angeles County since 1998. The program supports secondary education teachers in implementing an environmental service-learning project with their students that will better their campus or community. Popular projects include recycling, e-waste collections, rain gardens, tree plantings and more. Resources offered include a bus for a field trip, free workshops throughout the year, audits, toolkits, and other publications which can be downloaded at www.generationearth.com. [Grades: K-12]
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Reducing Water Consumption in Urban Farming [LUNCH TABLES 11:15am-12:30pm, Courtyard]
Jennifer Fox | ENGINEER. MAKER. EDUCATOR. + SOCIAL JUSTICE LEARNING INSTITUTE
A background in physics and engineering led Jennifer Fox to tinkering and experimenting in a wide array of fields including robotics, instrumentation, remote control, and re-purposing.
Agriculture consumes between 80 – 90% of all freshwater in the United States. One of the most effective and efficient ways to reduce agricultural water consumption is to implement advanced water management techniques, such as drip irrigation or a soil moisture sensor. Learn how a partnership with the Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) in Inglewood led to a soil moisture sensor irrigation control system that addresses water consumption at a school garden in Lennox, CA. Leave with a published tutorial describing how to build the system yourself. [Grades: K-12]
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CANCELLED–Bring the LADWP Speakers’ Bureau to Your School [LUNCH TABLES 11:15am-12:30pm, Courtyard]
Gale Harris | LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER + POWER
LADWP has professionally trained speakers who are available to speak to community, civic, and educational organizations on a variety of topics—from energy and water conservation to emergency preparedness to alternative + renewable energy. Presentations by the LADWP representatives are available at no cost to service clubs, schools, faith-based organizations, senior and consumer groups, and business and professional organizations. Our speakers are knowledgeable and bring their presentations to life by inspiring informative discussions with the groups they address. [Grades: K-12]
