Kids in the Creek

Kids in the Creek, again

2011-12-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

Students at French Gulch-Whiskeytown School have been involved in planting native plants, observing wildlife, and learning about their watershed. They are involved with their local environment as stewards of the land that backs up to their community. Students have ownership of what they are doing and will be able to see their efforts for many years to come. It benefits the kids, the community, and the watershed when everyone is working together, making a positive difference, and helping to ensure a healthier environment in the future. The other benefit is that students learn and do science, writing, reading, math, arts, and social studies all as part of their participation in their learning and environment. Education and understanding of the environment is critical to the future health of our natural resources.

Kids in the Creek is Back!

2011-11-27T11:36:00.001-08:00

The kids will be planting native plants and learning about fire ecology as they analyze the recovery from the French Fire. They have been exploring the life and health of the Clear Creek Watershed by looking at indicator species, pH, temperature, and biodiversity. We are excited to get out and explore the creek more.

2007-01-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!
NAWA students and their faithful leader, Chris, have been busy planting and tending to the site. We are grateful for their continued willingness to participate. They were able to identify the surviving plants and have done a fine job replacing the ones that didn't make it... (that heat last July was a killer!)
Stay tuned for updates from the students!

Brochure Page 2!

2006-08-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Here is page 2!

Invasives Brochure is Complete!!

2006-08-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

Good news! We completed the Invasive Species Brochure and had them printed. They look fantastic! Special thanks to Izzy and other NAWA students for compiling alot of the information and design ideas!
Attached is the first page of the 3-fold brochure and I'll post the other page next. You can also view and download the brochure soon from our project website, http://www.kidsinthecreek.org.

Please contact me at 530.365.7332 x203 if you'd like a few to display and hand out! Enjoy!

2006-08-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Summer has been upon us for quite a while and the kids have just a few more weeks before school revs up again! Yikes!
Our plants are battling the heat thanks to Chris from NAWA! He's diligently watering weekly and we should have better success with our plants over this hot summer. He's been bringing NAWA students out the last few weeks also.
The Himalayan Blackberry and Tree of Heaven are putting up a fight and trying to take over. Fortunately we have a little more time on the grant to hack away at them! Here's a picture of the site on July 12th.
Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

Native and Nonnative Plants by Michaela

2006-06-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

After the fire in French Gulch all of the native were taken over by the nonnative plants. The nonnative plants that had taken over the native were called the; Himalayan Blackberry bush, and Tree of Heaven. The native plants we have planted are the native willow, wild grape, redbud, California Blackberry, and other species.

2006-05-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

hello all... my name is Izzy and im from Nawa. I have been asked to post the results from our water monitoring data over the last few months. The test we performed on the water were nitrate, phosphate, ph, tempurature, turbidity, and disolved oxogen. these are our results;

date, temp(t), ph, turbidity(tur), disolved oxygen(do), nitrate(n), phosphates(p)

10/21/05, t=12.2, ph= 8.26, tur=2.59, do=97.8% 10.24mg/L, n=0.0 p=n/a
2/7/06, t=10.7, ph=8.38, tur=22.7, do=106.8% 11.98mg/L, n=0.3 p=25mg/L
2/14/06, t=10.0, ph=8.05, tur=6.5, do=87% 9.6mg/L, n=0.15, p=50mg/L
2/21/06, t=8.4, ph=8.12, tur=3.7, do=104% 12.35mg/L, n-n/a, p=10mg/L
3/1/06, t=8.4, ph=8.17, tur=1.3, do=101.37% 11.62mg/L, n=.5, p=20mg/L
3/7/06, t=9.2, ph=8.8, tur=23.3, do=103% 11.46mg/L, n=.5, p=25mg/L
3/14/06, t=7.4, ph=8.11, tur=14, do=105.5% 12.4mg/L, n=0, p=10mg/L
3/21/06, t=9.2, ph=8.22, tur=10.4, do=102.6% 11.84mg/L, n=.3, p=25mg/L
3/27/06, t=9, ph=8.11, tur=15.9, do=134.7% 17.55mg/L, n=.5mg/L, p=10mg/L
4/3/06, t= 9.6, ph= 8.15, tur=41.4, do=96.8% 10.83mg/L, n=.15, p=25mg/L
4/19/06, t=10.8, ph=8.21, tur=50.6, do=105% 12.15mg/L, n=.3, p=25mg/L
4/27/06, t=13, ph=6.3, tur=15.8, do=112%, n=.5, p=100mg/L
5/1/06, t=13.6, ph=8.45, tur=11.9, do=101% 10.26mg/L n=n/a, p =100mg/L
5/8/06, t=14.9, ph=3.18, tur=6.1, do=91% 9.1mg/L, n=0, p=100mg

The watershed by Kyle (6th Grade)

2006-05-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Blogger, our watershed project includes WSRCD and three schools: NAWA, CCS and FGWS. At our watershed, we volunteer to work. Then we take out non-natives such as: Himalayan black berries, tree of heaven and other non-natives. Also, we planted native grasses, trees, and other native plant. It has been fun working on the watershed and I hope this effort continues.

The Watershed by Breanna (5th Grade)

2006-05-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

We have been planting and kick netting. We have been putting in natives and taking out non-natives. For example, we have been taking out Himalayan black berries and tree of heaven. We have also been looking at water temperature, pH, and more.

OUR WATERSHED by Natalie (6th Grade)

2006-05-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

One beautiful sunny afternoon, my class went to our watershed. Mr.Heims, my teacher, was giving us some things to write like a poem, story, and more. I was sitting on a log with my friends. The wind was blowing in my face and through the trees. Mr.Heims called us all over to tell us about poison oak, because a shovel was in it. Then we went back to what we were doing. After we were done, we went back to school, but before we went back to school, the kids went in the creek because it was hot out.
Last Friday my class went to our watershed to see how it was doing. It looks a lot better now compared to after the fire had come and destroyed it. Since the fire, our watershed looks like there was no fire. Other schools came to help make the watershed perfect once again. NAWA, Chrysalis, and French Gulch came to the watershed to make it beautiful with trees, flowers, and other things. Animals came back to the watershed because of our help.

The Watershed by Heidi (7th Grade)

2006-05-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

In our Watershed, we are working on helping this area from a disastrous fire that occured on August 14, 2004. What we do in the Watershed is test water quality, cut down the non- native plants (invasive plants), and planting native plants. We use kick nets to catch aquatic invertebrates for study, and we set down tracking plates to see what animals have gone by. We have done a lot, but we still have a lot to do.

The River by Jamie (4th Grade)

2006-05-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

My class is going to the River. When we got to the other side, birds were singing, plants were growing. My Teacher said, “Grab a shovel and some plants.” When he was giving directions, I saw a caterpillar on a leaf. It is hard to pay attention with all this cool stuff happing.

Great job everybody!

2006-05-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

Justed wanted to tell you all GREAT JOB with the poetry and other stories on this "Water Blog"! We'll do our best to share all your amazing contributions with our community!
See you all next week for Creek Day 2006!

Wildflowers were blooming last week!

The NAWA, Chrysalis, and French Gulch - Whiskey town School by cyndi

2006-05-03T11:18:00.002-07:00

The NAWA, Chrysalis, and French Gulch - Whiskey town School students have worked on Clear Creek, but before they did any thing they had to learn what non-native and native plants were. The non-native plants were Himalayan black berry, tree of heaven, ect… The native plants are oak, native black berry and big leaf maple, ect…
The students have made the watershed healthier.

FGWS David's Poetry

2006-05-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

The creek was churning
The kids were learning

People were walking
Others were talking

No one seemed to care
That the creek was there

But then the fire started
And some of us departed

But the creek was left alone
To defend itself and its home

And then three schools stood up
To help it along its way

Because if we don’t do something
The creek might be gone some day

Poem by FGWS Kaitlyn

2006-05-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

Everything around me,
As I could see,
In the blink of an eye,
Everything was growing,
More beautifully

Watershed blog F.G.W.S Gracey Hodges

2006-05-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

Right know I am sitting on a hill and looking at the water. The water is gushing down the rocks. The rocks are soaked. Earlier today my friends and I were accidentally sitting in poison oak. Every Friday, French Gulch - Whiskeytown School goes to Clear creek and we help on what the French fire destroyed. While we are at the watershed we take pictures of all types of things, and when we get back to school we try to identify what it was that we took.

Our Watershed by FGWS Kaitlyn

2006-05-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

French Gulch was destroyed by the 2004 fire known as the French Fire. Our mission is to restore what the fire took out.
What we do is we catch series of insects to what aquatic invertebrate live in our water. We also plant native plants. Last, but not least, we take out the non-native plants. Thank you for reading about our watershed. Come volunteer today to help French Gulch and other schools rebuild our community watershed.

F.G.W.S Miura and Gracey

2006-05-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

The wind was blowing, the

Water was flowing,
The sun was glowing,
The fish were rowing,
All the time I was knowing,
The grass is growing.

my experience by ccs josh

2006-04-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

I spent my first day out at french gulch learning about how different animals and plant life have grown and moved in after the french gulch fire. It didn't really excite me, but as the day went on I got to see the real devastation from the fire. I couldn't help but to think how a bunch of teenagers were going to restore the site if we only come here once a week on Thursdays.

Well, we have done this from the beginning of the year and now it is towards the end and I have seen a massive improvement. I believe that we have helped french gulch take a leap forward in recovering from the mess that the fire left behind.

What I liked about restoration by ccs Casey

2006-04-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

I liked restoration because we got to get out of school and help the environment. We planted plants and checked on the water to see if it was clean. We also picked up trash that people left out there. I liked restoration it was sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

CCS cj's post

2006-04-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed restoration at the french gulch planting site and just having fun while helping the world. The hikes were pretty cool. I also enjoyed all of the publicity since the work we do is good.

The water is still raging in April

2006-04-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!! this is CCS Tad.

These pics are from the last time Chrysalis was out on field study. The water level is so high that it makes it dangerous for us to collect macroinvertebrate samples. The channel profile is steep along the length of the riparian zone where we are conducting restoration. During high flow it prevents us from safely getting down to the stream to kick net. The kids from one of our partner schools, NAWA Academy, built a sturdy bridge this month that allows us to now cross over the creek and revegetate the south side. Thanks NAWA!

Poetry by Jeff

2006-04-28T11:03:00.001-07:00

Its a sign of life and hope it seems
Always flowing in a stream
Birds fly around it
The essence of peace surrounds it
Most people over look it
The town would not be here without it
It is the hope the world needs

The world just dosn't see it

All around are burnt out trees
But that's not what the blind man sees
The blind man sees health and life in everything
The blind man sees somthing in every dry stream
He sees beauty in every oak gaul
But of course he might not see anything at all

My Experience by ccs Patrick

2006-04-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

My Experience At French Gulch

The first day i came to French gulch i felt a little lost we were chopping down lots of plants which at that time didn't know were bad for the environment so in my head i was thinking why are we doing all this stuff. By the next week i knew that those were non- native plants but then we started catching bugs in the water and putting out track plates which i didn't understand one of my friends explained that track plates are to see what animals we have in this region. And the next week i met a man named Chris who was a great part of the French gulch restoration hes the one brought the plants, clippers, and shovels. He then explained the reason for kick netting the bugs it was a measure of the waters health. Then we started planting i wasn't having much fun at French gulch yet then one day a friend of mine got hurt and we walked up the hill and planted a plant up the i looked back wards and i saw the entire restoration site i was amaze i felt as if i was on top of the world i realized how beautiful all of French gulch was. I got really involved the next week i wrote poetry i drew pictures i planted new stuff and kept having fun with French gulch. I realized that if this site is already beautiful without all the growing imagine what it would be like with trees and plants and animal so in ten years i plan to return to the top of French gulch and look at the beautiful view that i helped create.

Poetry by Mercedes

2006-04-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

A river is like the human mind.
Rushing in so many different directions.
Almost as if it can't decide which way it wants to go.
If the river and mind would just stop, maybe things could straighten out.

How can a river be so fast moving in such a calm area?
How can a human be so tense while sitting next to the river quietly?

CCSBrandon's post

2006-04-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hello this is CCS Brandon, one of the students that have been volinteering in the restoration project taking place in French Gulch which was devistated by a deadly blaze in summer of 2004.

Since the restoration began there has been great increases in tree and shrubbery, for instance my fellow students and I have planded dozens of trees...which have a large chance of dying during the summer, however if they are able to survive their first sumer they will have matured enough so that they will be able to withstand the heat of summers to come.

However sadly I have not noticed an increase in wildlif beyong insects, and a limited number of birds. although my knowledge is limited in the field of wildlife, and vegetation I am very impressed with the progress taking place in the restoration.

Restoring French Gulch by ccs Kelsy

2006-04-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hi this is Kelsy. This past year my school and a few others have been trying to restore french gulch. It was damaged in the summer of 2004 in a terrible fire that killed almost all of the animal and plant population. We have been planting plants, pulling weeds, and keeping track of the animal life coming back. Plus we have been testing the pH, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and turbidity in the water in the same spot for at least once or twice a month. In the past few months after the great rain fall we have seen an immense amount of animal and plant life coming back. It will take many more years to come to restore it completely back to it's old self but in the mean time there will be schools out there to help it out on it's way. Well we are out there we also have a good time we go on hikes to get the plants farther up the mountain. While we are up there we are able to enjoy the many sights. We even write poetry some times here's an example:

The sound of water hitting rocks at full force,

The most amazing sound,

The sound of plants growing,

The sound of animals coming,

The sound of trees falling,

The sound of people laughing,

The sound of cars moving over gravel,

The sound of birds singing,

This is my life,

I don't want to see it change,

Help the environment,

The environment will help you.

I am sorry to say that this is it but I may be back in a bit!!!!!!!!!!!

Poetry from Chrysalis Students

2006-04-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

Below, Chrysalis Students have added some of the poetry that they have written at the restoration site.

CCSPatrick wrote:

The Southern Sky

The sun resurrects in the southern sky

The moon disappears in the faded light

You hear birds chirp and eagles fly

And the ferocious sounds of bobcats fight

The silent sound of the forest cry

The heavy sound of birds take flight

A weakened growl of a bobcat die

A victory chant out of sight

As you look up to the southern sky.

CCS Brittany wrote:

Laughter, joy, and learning

I've had that all today

I look forward to more,

because we will do this again in May

ccs Haley planting at French Gulch

2006-04-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hi this is CCSHaley. Chrysalis and the other schools have done alot to help our restoration site from the French Gulch Fire. We have hacked down invasives(non-natives) and planted many native plants. The CCS Water Quality Group tests the water so we know the water is healthy and clean. There is also the track plates which we use to see what animals live in the area. I think that the restoration site has inproved alot in the nine months that we have been going to French Gulch.

CSS Ben's invasive eradication!

2006-04-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is CSS Ben. I eradicate invasive plants at French Gulch, like blackberry and mustard plants. We have to do this because the invasive plants will take over and the natural plants will have a hard time growing. As you probably know, the French Fire has devastated the land there, so we must do everything we can to help restore it.

CCS Brittany's Water Quality

2006-04-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hello this is CCS Brittany. I'm posting Water Quality test data from these dates. In Water Quality we test the water for it's pH, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, and turbidity.

9-29-05: pH- 6.9, 6.9, 6.9, 7.2, 6.9, 6.9, 6.9, and 7.2
phosphate- 50 mg/l and 50 mg/l
nitrate- 0.15, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0.3
nitrite- 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0

10-6-05: Upper Creek
pH- 6.6, 6.6, and 6.6
phosphate- 100 mg/l
nitrate- 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0.15, and 0

Lower Creek
pH- 6.3, 6.6, and 6.6
phosphate- 100 mg/l
nitrate- 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0.15, and 0

10-27-05: Upper Creek
pH- 6.0, 6.0, 6.3, and 6.0
nitrate- 0, 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0, 0, and 0
phosphate- 10 mg/l

Lower Creek
pH- 6.6, 6.3, and 6.3
nitrate- 0, 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0, 0, and 0
phosphate- 25 mg/l

11-10-05: Upper Creek
pH- 6.3, 6.0, and 6.3
nitrate- 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0, and 0
phosphate- 25 mg/l

Lower Creek
pH- 6.3, 6.3, and 6.3
nitrate- 0, 0, 0, and 0.5
nitrite- 0, 0, 0, and 0
phosphate- 50 mg/l

11-17-05: Upper Creek
pH- 6.0, 6.3, 6.3, and 6.3
phosphate- 100 mg/l
nitrate- 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0, and 0
phosphate- 100 mg/l
turbidity- 7.6

Lower Creek
pH- 6.3, 6.0, 6.3
nitrate- 0, 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0, 0, and o.15
electric pH- 10.21
turbidity- 9.1

12-15-05: Upper Creek
pH- 6.0, 6.0, 6.3, and 6.0
nitrate- 0, 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0, 0, and 0
phosphate- 10 mg/l

Lower Creek
pH- 6.6, 6. 3, and 6.3
nitrate- 0, 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0, 0, and 0
phosphate- 25 mg/l

2-9-06: Upper Creek
pH- 6.0, 6.3, 6.3, and 6.3
nitrate- 100 mg/l
nitrite- 0, 0, and 0
phosphate-100 mg/l
turbidity- 7.6

Lower Creek
pH- 6.3, 6.3, 6.0, and 6.3
nitrate- 0, 0, 0, and 0
nitrite- 0, 0, 0, and 0.15
phosphate- 50 mg/l
turbidity- 9.1

Why we can't safely cross the creek...

2006-03-20T11:46:00.000-08:00

As much as the rain is helpful to our region, it sure makes it tough to cross the creek. The kids miss climbing the hillside. We need to get up there to "grub" around the Ponderosa Pines donated by SPI!

Other fun critters at the site!

Planting like crazy!

2006-03-20T11:32:00.000-08:00

Another wet day today... Lots of progress has been made over the last couple months. Check out all the plant protectors! And, not every species planted has a protector! There are nearly 300 plants revegetated on the restoration site. Way to go students!

Water Quality 12-28-05

2005-12-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

Check out the HIGH WATER!!

Chris W., Chris G., and Leslie visited the site while the kids were on winter break...

pH meter: 8.45
Turbidity: 99.9 VTU (off the charts!)
Temp: 10.6° C (pH meter) & 10.3° C (DO meter)
Dissolved Oxygen: 12.01 ppm @ 107.3%
Phosphates: 10 ppm
Nitrates: 0.5 ppm
Surface Flow: ~10'/sec

See you all next year!

Update for mid-December 2005

2005-12-13T12:47:00.000-08:00

I visited the site on December 6 at dusk. It was a very different feeling that time of the day...
A rain gauge has now been placed to gather rainfall for the remainder of the school year.
We're ready to plant this week!

Chris is checking out the blog...

2005-11-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the invite Kirk!
We'll get Chris & Tad hooked up so that all of us can post to the blog!

Great concept!

Photo's

2005-10-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

What type of tracks are these?
Students collecting with kick nets
Dragonfly nymph
Some photo's from French Creek...

Kids in the Creek

2005-10-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Kids in the Creek
This will hopefully act as an interactive discussion and log of observations, insights, and more.

Watershed Assessment

2005-10-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

Students are learning about fire ecology and recovery. They are looking at native and invasive species, other species as health barometers, and various aspects of the watershed.

Chrysalis Water Data from 10/6

2005-10-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

Data was submitted by Brittney to K.Heims on 10/6 based on collecting/activities by students

Upper Creek

pH: 6.6., 6.6, 6.6
Phospate: 100mg/PO3
Nitrate: 0,0,0
Nitrite: 0.00, 0.15, 0.15

Lower Creek

pH: 6.3., 6.6, 6.6
Phospate: 100mg/PO3
Nitrate: 0,0,0
Nitrite: 0.00, 0.15, 0.00

French Creek Watershed

2005-10-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

FGWS students have been going to French Creek for about an hour a week. They are enjoying this project and learning a lot. This blog should be used to share our observations and info on French Creek and regarding the various topics covered by this grant.
Students are learning about fire recovery ecology, their watershed, and how to make a positive influence in their community.