Pittsburg third-graders catch on to fish safety program
Dateline:
04/05/2009Source:
Contra Costa Times If Ruben Rodriguez, Korvail Jenkins or Sierra Smith one day becomes an environmental leader, their third-grade teacher wouldn't be a bit surprised.
The students in Suzanne Licht's class at Pittsburg's Highlands Elementary have been learning a lot about aquatic life in the Bay and Delta over the past couple of months. The class participates in Kids for the Bay, a hands-on program held once a week.
The five in-depth sessions help students learn about watersheds, runoff pollution, food chains, Bay organisms, and environmental justice, said program coordinator Deborah Zierten.
The kids have taken to the program like a fish to water.
"What fascinated me the most is the kids had such minimal knowledge initially, and that they've taken such an interest in it," Licht said. The students have a greater understanding of area geography, and the instruction has piqued their interest in the environment, she said.
Last week, the class shared with parents and peers in another third-grade class how to safely prepare fish caught in the Bay, as well as how pollutants in the water enter the food chain.
While Noah Rawlins and Angel De La Cruz excitedly chopped up cilantro and measured rice vinegar as part of a marinade, Allyza Elnar explained how to remove the organs and properly clean the fish.
The class also led a game showing how plankton contaminated by chemicals such mercury and pesticides can lead to greater health risk as it travels down the food chain — known as the biomagnification of the pollutants.
Yellow and red paper clips were strewed across the floor to symbolize good and bad plankton. Students acting as anchovies were told to collect as many clips as they could and put them in satchels. Next, a group of "salmon" were told to grab as many satchels from the anchovies as they could.
A human eventually takes in all that contamination when eating fish, Salvador Reyes-Gomez said.
The Kids for the Bay program started at Highlands around 1995 — back then it was called the Estuary Action Challenge — Principal Steve Ahonen said. Some time is spent across the street at Buchanan Park doing studies and cleanup at Kirker Creek.
Other sessions included examining body structures of Dungeness crabs and striped bass.
Later this month, the class will take a field trip to the Martinez shoreline to explore water, plant and animal life.
Licht hopes to continue the program internally next year and perhaps add more writing to the curriculum.
Berkeley-based Kids for the Bay strives to raise young children's ecological awareness.
It has been around for 17 years, and holds programs throughout the East Bay — including Richmond, Antioch, Hercules, Fremont and Danville.
Reach Paul Burgarino at 925-779-7164 or pburgarino@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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