SYRCL’s Science and Education Departments Team Up for another successful Earthwatch

Each summer SYRCL partners with the Earthwatch Institute and Tahoe National Forest (TNF) to host a field science expedition for high school juniors and seniors interested in STEAM careers. This year’s first session was completed in the last week of June and focused on Restoring Sierra Meadows: The Source of California’s Water. Six students from throughout California joined our team to assist with monitoring work in Van Norden Meadow.

Through hands-on learning activities in Van Norden Meadow, our program supports student understanding around biodiversity, hydrology, and how restoration reduces human impacts on the environment. These young adults are given an opportunity to work alongside environmental professionals. Former participants have been quoted saying this “glimpse into the life of a field scientist made [them] more confident in [their] decision to pursue environmental science” as a career.

Not only can this trip help young women find their place in the STEAM field, it can also provide space for intercity students to experience nature in a meaningful way:

“My time spent in the Sierra Nevada with other like-minded and STEM-loving individuals, both scientists and peers alike, has truly been an honor. The experience has inspired me to share this opportunity with other interested individuals in my own community.” – Emma Wong, 11^th grade, Bakersfield, CA

SYRCL is proud to host this field science excursion where students are taught a multitude of topics. The hand’s on work this year included;

building Willow Fascines (basket like willow bunches placed in stream channels to provide roughness features and revegetation),
collecting groundwater data (depth, temperature, and conductivity), and
conducting biological surveys (birds, amphibians, and zooplankton).

The second Girls in Science Expedition takes place the end of July where nine students from the greater Los Angeles area and Portland, OR will help collect plant survey data in Van Norden Meadow.

Hosting another successful Earthwatch expedition is a big win for SYRCL, Sierra Meadows, and the future environmentalists.

A second Earthwatch Expedition happened later in July.

Thanks to the continued partnership with Earthwatch Institute and Tahoe National Forest, nine fellows from the greater Los Angeles area and Portland, Oregon joined our second Earthwatch Girls in Science Field Science Expedition. The team assisted SYRCL with collecting plant survey monitoring data throughout Van Norden Meadow post Phase I of restoration.