Saratoga News

Saratoga Creek becomes a living classroom for district

By Michelle Alaimo

Group projects have a whole new meaning in the Saratoga Union School District. Science classes throughout the district are working together on the Saratoga Creek Project, which enables students to integrate their science and technology skills.

The 3-year-old project, funded by a technology grant from the state, allows science students in kindergarten through eighth grade to study the creek and share information via a Web site, said Garth Bacon, Saratoga Creek Project coordinator.

Each grade level works on a different part of the project; fourth-graders, for instance, study erosion and eighth-graders, water quality. Bacon said the biggest thrill for kids is going to the creek and seeing firsthand what they have been learning in science class.

"It's showing them a good, healthy food web in the creek," Bacon said.

Argonaut Elementary School's fourth-grade science teacher, Teddy Sachs, said the project is great for kids.

"It's by kids, for kids, so they can learn more about the creek," she said.

Sachs' class is piloting a new part of the program this year. Her students will create a virtual visitor's guide to the creek. The guide will include a map, student drawings and even pictures of the creek taken with a digital camera.

The various grade levels take half-day trips, with each school visiting a different part of the creek--in Sanborn or Wildwood parks or along Walnut Avenue--differences can be seen in test results because the water quality is tested above the Saratoga Village, in the Village and below the Village, Bacon said. Citing signs along the creek that caution against letting children play in the water, Bacon stressed that the students involved in the project are not allowed to do so. Instead, they simply test the water for nitrates, phosphates, oxygen and temperature. The classes, he said, also do not address pollution, an issue that has had the city and local environmental groups embroiled in court for years to determine who is responsible for high levels of fecal coliform in the Saratoga Creek.

But, added Sachs, "The project raises the awareness of protecting the creek and the whole watershed in this area."

And it encourages creativity. Students not only take water samples of the creek for scientific purposes, but they also write poetry and draw pictures about what they have seen.

While the creek project is something that can be expanded into other parts of the district's curriculum, Bacon said, the district hopes to work with other schools downstream in the future. This way, Bacon said, students would be able to compare data and email other classes in different school districts.

Bacon said the district is also looking for a geologist to work with fifth-graders on investigating the creek's history. He added that the students are always asking about the history of the creek, and this would be an excellent way for them to learn it.

Sachs said it's great to start the young students learning about environmental issues relating to science and the creek. "It ensures the creek is going to remain here," she said.

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