Welcome

Dear Visitors,

I am a student in the HBP (Home Based Partnership*) Ocean Guardians class. We do a variety of activities in this class. On a weekly basis, we meet at HBP and walk down to the Maria Ygnacio creek to examine the water. We conduct tests on the water, and make measurements to determine the condition.

In the fall of 2010, we took a field trip and hiked up to the headwaters of Maria Ygnacio creek, called Bjorklund Ranch, which is located in the foothills of Santa Barbara. There, we completed our tests, and recorded them on our Quantitative Analysis Sheet.

Then, later on in the term, we did a Rapid Trash Assessment project, where we went up the creek to a certain point to pick up all the trash that we saw, and then brought it all back to the school. Then, we counted up all the trash, from the tiniest things, such as bottle caps, to the largest things, that ranged from metal pipes to large amounts of steel rebar.

Near the end of the term, we went all the way to the bottom of the watershed, near the point where the Maria Ygnacio creek joins with the Atascadero creek. After the trip, we compared the data we recorded from the headwaters to the data we collected from the bottom of the watershed to gain an understanding of how our creeks were doing, from top to bottom.

This is the second time I have taken the Ocean Guardians class and we hope to present our information to professional watershed watchers. I am thrilled to learn more about our creeks, and maybe one day inspire others to help take great care of this beautiful, natural resource.

by John

*Associated with the Santa Barbara Charter School