On November 21, the shore of Lodi Lake was abuzz with activity. The fifth-graders in Mrs. Martina Ruiz’s class at Needham Elementary School were there to work alongside Barbara Transon of Lodi Unified School District, Watershed Program Coordinator Kathy Grant of the City of Lodi, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologists Donnie Ratcliff, Kes Benn and Erin Click to read the full post.
Blog
Xerces Society celebrates 20 years of the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count
Each fall, monarch butterflies retreat to groves along the Pacific coast in California to settle in for the winter. Every year, the Xerces Society, an organization dedicated to conserving all kinds of invertebrates, gets together to count how many arrive for their annual vacation. The butterflies nest in about 400 locations from Mendocino County here Click to read the full post.
Storm Drain Detective team leaders receive Beeler Award
Congratulations to teachers Jud Atwater and Melissa Turner of Lodi High; Sandi Starr of Tokay High; Janine Jacinto of Heritage Elementary; and Melanie Martinez of Reese Elementary! The 2016 Frank R. Beeler Watershed Stewardship Award was presented to City of Lodi’s Storm Drain Detective team leaders at the annual October EMBUD Pardee barbecue. Representing the SDD team leaders Click to read the full post.
Resources for wannabe citizen scientists
If the leaf pack project at Needham Elementary School has you curious about taking on your own citizen science project, look no further. There are plenty of organizations that work with people throughout the U.S. to observe the natural world. Citizen scientists are important contributors to the scientific community, because they give researchers more data Click to read the full post.
Free family fun at the Sandhill Crane Festival
Every year, Lodi welcomes thousands of birds flying down from the north to spend their winters in the California Delta. Among them are the greater and lesser Sandhill cranes. For 20 years now, Lodi has been the host of the Sandhill Crane Festival, which celebrates these ancient birds. Did you know that a crane fossil was Click to read the full post.
Needham Elementary students make leaf packs
On Thursday morning, students in Ms. Martina Ruiz’s fifth-grade class at Needham Elementary School became citizen scientists for a few hours. Their mission: Create eight leaf packs weighing exactly 30 grams each, which will be used to monitor the health of Lodi Lake and the Mokelumne River. But first, they had to review what they Click to read the full post.
Workshop: Salmonids in the Classroom
On Nov. 5, the California Regional Environmental Education Community will be hosting a Salmonids in the Classroom workshop for EEI teachers. According to the registration email: From eggs, to alevin, to fry that may be released back into the river, your students will be able to observe the beginning of this fascinating life cycle. Raising salmon Click to read the full post.
A letter of thanks from Kathy Grant
All, THANK YOU, LODI LAKE –MOKELUMNE RIVER COASTAL CLEANUP 2016 VOLUNTEERS! We did it again — broke our past records: 330 people came out to work at the 14th annual Lodi Lake-Mokelumne River Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, September 17, 2016. We were almost overwhelmed, if it were not for the awesome front table sign in team: Super-heroes Krista Click to read the full post.
Congratulations, Storm Drain Detectives!
The City of Lodi has a lot to be proud of. At the recent League of California Cities’ annual conference in Long Beach, Lodi was honored with the Ruth Vreeland Award for Engaging Youth in City Government. The reason? Lodi’s successful Storm Drain Detectives program, which encourages teens at Lodi and Tokay high schools to Click to read the full post.
What is Project WET?
In September, a group of Lodi Unified teachers joined Kathy Grant, the City of Lodi’s Watershed Program Coordinator, and Brian Brown, California Project WET Coordinator, to learn more about the environmental science program. The Project WET Foundation has taken on the mission of educating students about water, from sustainability to water issues around the world to Click to read the full post.