The 2022 edition of the Mokelumne Current is live! Our Lodi students want to share what they’ve learned about the Mokelumne River watershed this year, and it’s precious. This year’s edition has covered the usual topics, highlighting the various programs made available to Lodi teachers interested in incorporating the Mokelumne River watershed in their studies. Click to read the full post.
Category: Watershed Education
Meet Your Watershed: The Steelhead Story
Salmon are just one of many fish that live in the Mokelumne River watershed. Another underwater resident of the region is the Steelhead Trout. Join Dena Mason of the Delta Fly Fishers, Darrick Baker, a fish hatchery manager I at the Mokelumne River Hatchery, and Kathy Grant, who runs the City of Lodi’s watershed program, Click to read the full post.
City of Lodi announces winners of ‘Protect Our Watershed’ poster contest
The City of Lodi Public Works is very pleased to announce that 49 students from Lodi schools were able to participate in the City of Lodi’s first “Protect Our Watershed” poster contest. We all live in a watershed. Since City of Lodi streets drain to the Mokelumne River, with minimal treatment, this poster contest was Click to read the full post.
How does vegetation affect rainwater runoff?
When it rains in Lodi, that water filters through soil, eventually making its way into the groundwater table or the Mokelumne River. But how does where rain falls affect surface water quality? This lab explores the different effects soil with growing vegetation vs. bare soil have on rainwater filtration and runoff.
Meet Your Watershed: Mokelumne River Salmon Story
Your journey starts at the Mokelumne River Hatchery, built near the Lake Camanche Dam in 1960. Find out how the East Bay Municipal Utility District and California Fish and Wildlife help the fall-run salmon of the Mokelumne River, and follow the salmon through their lifecycle.
Meet Your Watershed: Storm Drains and Rivers!
You’ve seen the storm drains around Lodi, but did you know that anything that flows into them goes directly to the Mokelumne River? Recently, students a Joe Serna Jr. Charter School created “storm racers,” floating objects made from recycled materials, to see just how quickly items dropped in the storm drains can reach the river. Click to read the full post.
Meet Your Watershed: The Rain is Coming! (Maybe)
Hi, Lodi Watershed Teachers, As the wet season in Lodi slowly approaches, it would be timely, now, to review with your students, Lodi’s watershed best management practices (or BMPs) for the rainy season. Students can help prepare for rain at home, as well! Encourage students to rake leaves out of the street’s gutter or yard. Click to read the full post.
What exactly is a Pineapple Express?
Have you ever heard of a Pineapple Express? Also known as atmospheric rivers, they carry huge amounts of water vapor up in the atmosphere from the tropical region (hence the “pineapple” in the name) to the West Coast, where it then falls as massive amounts of rain. Atmospheric rivers are the source of much of Click to read the full post.
Meet Your Watershed: Lodi Lake Nature Trail
Take a virtual walk through the Lodi Lake Nature Area with Kathy Grant, City of Lodi watershed program coordinator, and science educator Jay Bell. Video filmed by WGR Southwest, Inc.
Floodplains and crawdads
Here are two great resources for learning about the local watershed and the salmon and crawdads who live here, from the California Department of Water Resources and the California WaterBlog. First up, a question-and-answer with Hailey Wright, a CDWR environmental scientist, who discusses why floodplains are so ivital for California’s salmon population: Can you explain Click to read the full post.