Ocean Schooling

Institute staffer Brittany Baum demonstrates how a water source cuts a path across land en route to the ocean in a lab demonstration. Photo by James Graves

Sixth-grade students from Laguna Beach's Thurston Middle School lucked out Tuesday and skipped regular classes to learn lessons at Dana Point's Ocean Institute, taking part in a new daylong watershed education program on environmental geology.

About 70 Thurston students worked in the Institute labs and onboard the research vessel Sea Explorer to learn how human

actions change watershed conditions.

The Institute partnered with the city of Laguna Beach, which adopted the sixth-grade class and contributed $13,500 to pay bus and program fees, said Lara Hughes, the Institute's adopta class manager. Sponsors' donations allowed over 200 students to participate in the program, which ran Jan. 12-14.

During the lab, students learned about stream structure and dynamics, erosion processes, local geological history, and onshore sediment composition. Aboard the boat, students took part in data collection at three designated sample sites. The students tested for nitrogen levels, plankton productivity, and offshore sediment composition as they move from the mouth of San Juan Creek towards a wastewater outfall, Hughes explained. The data collected at each site is compared to current and archived information and the collected water sample sent to UC Irvine for analysis.

Students ask questions during a lecture by Amy Townsend-Small, a UC Irvine oceanographer.

"We feel our unique programs transform textbook science and history lessons into lifetime experiences using nationally recognized 'immersion' teaching techniques," Hughes said.

Said Dan Stetson, the Institute's president, "We want our young people to understand how their behavior can positively or negatively impact our beaches and oceans and their marine inhabitants."

For more info about the Institute's adopt-a-class program, contact Hughes at (949) 496-2274, ext. 413.

---Andrea Adelson

Students enjoy lunch in the surrounding garden during the Kids' Conferences on Watersheds. Staff photos by Ted Reckas Staff photos by Ted Reckas Students share ideas about preserving marine habitats while inspecting a model tide pool. Students ask questions during a lecture by Amy Townsend- Small, a UC Irvine oceanographer.