Amigos De Bolsa Chica
PROGRAMS
Addressing threats to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve by climate change in all education programs.
The Amigos de Bolsa Chica is adding detailed information about the impacts of climate change and seal level rise to it's Naturalist training program and to the Citizen Science-led FLOW (Follow and Learn about the Ocean and Wetlands) Program. This allows us to provide accurate information to all participants in our informal science education programs. We are working with other coastal groups and scientists to ensure there is funding for short-term and long-term maintenance, restoration and wetland resilience projects.
Community interest in the future - the preservation and restoration - of the wetlands would increase. What is accomplished at Bolsa Chica can set an example for all threatened coastal resources. The Amigos de Bolsa Chica offers environmental leadership opportunities to all members of the community. Volunteers and students participate in a tour or the FLOW program, train to become a Naturalist or Citizen Scientist, then volunteer to educate others about the importance of wetlands, participate in coalitions with other environmental organizations, or contribute financially.
Increase the number of underserved audiences, multicultural groups and students from inland areas that come to take our Naturalist-led tours of the Bolsa
We believe that environmental resources protection depends on a sense of stewardship. We see field trips to the Bolsa Chica as a unique opportunity for problem and place-based learning. The number of students that we serve with our docent-led tours is currently limited by two factors: 1) the number of bus transportation scholarships that we are able to offer disadvantaged school groups and 2) the number of active trained docents available. The Amigos is especially proud of the funding we have obtained in the past to provide Title 1 schools with the aid necessary to pay for bus transportation. We have distributed a total of dozens of bus scholarships in the four years, making it possible for approximately hundreds of under-served students to visit the Bolsa Chica Wetlands annually at virtually no cost Many of these students had never been to a coastal environment before. We want to continue this practice.
Increase the knowledge of the need to protect the wetlands to students in Title 1 schools. We anticipate seeing the students bringing their families back to the wetlands for tours or to visit.
Enhance FLOW to create a stronger program where both volunteers and educators, through Community Science, can find their voice in protecting biodiversity within their community.
In order to increase possibilities for community-based Community Science and provide greater hands-on STEM opportunities for visiting classes/students, FLOW requires improvements to our testing and analysis potentials with more sophisticated sensors and support equipment. Additional professional laboratory equipment would enable volunteers to better assess the water quality within the BCER and it would elevate our established FLOW Field Trip curriculum. Through chemistry and microscopy lessons, students receive hands-on training on how to analyze the contents of ocean and wetland water samples. FLOW also gives teachers the opportunity to explore science in the context of real world scenarios. By offering lesson plans, curriculum and training events, FLOW provides long-term help to teachers transitioning to new science standards that have been controversial and/or challenging for underfunded schools. This offers students a chance to examine an array of water quality related topics such as the effects of urban runoff on the watershed, harmful algae blooms, and the potential impacts of climate change on the marine food web. A Program Manager is necessary to oversee the execution of a successful research projects and the plans for publicizing the results.
Purchasing enhanced equipment will replace the current simplistic sampling and testing methods, create opportunities for Community Science based research, improve our current and ongoing harmful algal bloom monitoring as well as the FLOW Field Trip program. A stronger FLOW Program has a better potential to assist educators in meeting Next Generation Science Standards and to give students greater ability to visualize themselves in a STEM career. Opportunities to create meaningful research into the effects BCER’s water quality has on biodiversity can help government decision-makers and the community understand the need for long-term funding for maintenance of the restored area, including periodic dredging of the ocean inlet. A functioning ocean inlet is of paramount importance to the continued success of Bolsa Chica’s restoration. Strengthening FLOW will assist the Amigos with related goals including: garnering political and community support for continued funding for the consistent maintenance of the Bolsa Chica restoration project; influencing local policies on water quality; advocating for further restoration of wetland areas within the BCER; publishing our water quality analysis data; and increased educational outreach opportunities that include visits to schools with microscopes and other scientific instruments.
CONTACT
Amigos De Bolsa Chica
P.O. Box 1563
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
Phone: 714-840-1575