2005 Education & Outreach Newsletter

Annual Teach the River Symposium
Providing Tools to Teach About Natural Resources

This February 26th and 27th, 2005 marked the 5th annual Teach the River symposium in the San Joaquin Valley and Southern Sierra Region. Presented through a collaborative effort between the California Department of Fish and Game and local nonprofit San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust (SJRPCT), the goal of Teach the River is to pass on watershed and river related knowledge to thousands of California students. The Department’s Robin Madrid worked closely with Saundra Plett, of the SJRPCT, to host another successful event. Jana Leiran and Gwen Green also deserve kudos for their hard work and efforts in the planning of this event. Jana was in charge of coordinating all of the door prizes and exhibitors, while Gwen handled a lot of the site logistics and problem solving.

The symposium is designed to attract both a formal and non-formal education audience, including: K-12 classroom teachers, home schoolers, after-school program leaders, naturalists, interpreters, and camp leaders. “Teaching children about nature is the best way for future generations to gain an understanding and appreciation for their natural world, and Teach the River helps make this a reality,” says Saundra Plett, Education Director of the SJRPCT.

The first day of the symposium offered a full day of more than 30 fabulous natural resource education-related workshops, Educators had the option to take up to four different workshops throughout the day or sign up for an all day workshop. This year's all day workshop focused on Project Wild Aquatic (K-12). The second day was comprised of several wonderful fieldtrip options, such as: a canoe trip to look for nesting bald eagles on Millerton Lake, bird watching on a reserve, learning how to orienteer, and hiking through the San Joaquin River Gorge to learn about the local biology and geology of the area.

Be sure to save the date for Teach the River 2006, which is planned for February 25th and 26th. Please be sure to spread the word to folks who you think might be interested. Visit www.riverparkway.org towards the end of this year for more details.