We planted Primrose along the creek behind HBP that we grew from seeds collected in our area. We also seed started several other natives from seeds collected in our watershed for planting later in the year. November 15, 2012.
Creek Water Quality Testing Downstream
We tested the water quality of the Maria Ygnaicio Creek downstream near the intersection of the bikepath to UCSB and Patterson Ave. on November 8, 2012.
Ocean Guardians/Water System Epic Field Trip
We took a full-day field trip to visit our local water system with the Water Systems class lead by Dave Bothman on November 2, 2012.
Area i at the Santa Barbara Airport
We visited Growing Solutions' incredible restoration project on the Goleta Slough near UCSB and the Santa Barbara Airport on November 1, 2012.
Creek Cleanup at HBP
We spent the afternoon surveying the creek downstream from HBP and picked up quite a bit of trash. This was on October 25, 2012.
Creek Water Qulaity Testing Upstream
We tested the quality of the water upstream near the "headwaters" of the Maria Ygnacio Creek at Bjorklund Ranch on October 20, 2012.
Pacific Mole Crab Study
We continued to study the Pacific Mole Crab at Goleta Beach on October 18, 2012.
Creek Water Monitoring at HBP
We tested the quality of the water in the Maria Ygnacio Creek behind HBP on October 4, 2012. There was a strange amount of water flowing in teh creek even though it had not rained. Probably from some agricultural runoff.
Coal Oil Point Gas and Oil Seeps
We went on a trip sponsored by Venoco Oil to visit Platform Holly and the world famous Coal Oil Point gas and oil seeps on September 29, 2012.
Welcome 2011/2012
Dear VisitorsThis is my last year in the Ocean Guardians class here at HBP (HomeBased Partnership*). This class does a variety of fun activities and field trips to many places around Santa Barbara and Goleta conducting tests and observations.
A watershed is an area of land that drains many dispersed bodies of water into one large body of water. Bjorklund Ranch, is the headwaters of our Maria Ygnacio watershed, behind the school is the halfway spot in the watershed (it’s right in the middle of it), and where Patterson Ave. and the bike path intersect is pretty much at the bottom just before it empties into the Goleta Slough. According to our chemistry results, the water got progressively worse as we went down the watershed. If you look to the right you will see, Results from Each Site Over the Seasons, and you will find our chemistry results there.
This year and last year, we did some rapid trash assessments. That means that we go up and down the creek getting all the trash. The trash is especially harmful to creeks because when there’s a big load of trash in the creek and the rains come, where does all that trash end up? In the ocean! We noticed that those assessments made a big impact on our creek.
When we do our testing, we record our data on our Quantitative Analysis Cover Sheet. That’s where all the chemistry results on this blog came from. It has spots where you can record and note all the results from the test at hand.
I hope that this blog will help you understand a little bit more of what we do in this class. We have a blast learning about our creeks, cleaning them, and helping to keep them healthy. But most of all, we want to help others to keep our creeks, and other creeks
clean and healthy.
— John
*Associated with the Santa Barbara Charter School
Anacapa Island May 11, 2012
We joined Channel Islands Restoration on a trip to Anacapa Island for the day. On our way out to the island we saw a mother and calf Humpback Whale and a huge pod of Common Dolphin. Once on the island we hiked, observed thousands of nesting Western Gulls, watered plants in restoration areas, and did some trail work. Ken Owens of CIR did a great job orienting and introducing us to this special place.
Goleta Beach Cleanup
Our plans for restoration work at another site fell through so we went to Goleta Beach at the slough entrance. It was a great opportunity to review what we are learning and what we can do to help keep our oceans clean. We can...
1. Pick up trash that ultimately makes its way to the ocean.
2. Restrict and limit the use of pesticides, fertilizers and car wash detergents.
3. Teach others about what they can do, especially our parents.
4. Do restoration work.
5. Keep learning.
We then picked up a lot of trash!
1. Pick up trash that ultimately makes its way to the ocean.
2. Restrict and limit the use of pesticides, fertilizers and car wash detergents.
3. Teach others about what they can do, especially our parents.
4. Do restoration work.
5. Keep learning.
We then picked up a lot of trash!
Pacific Mole Crab Study, May 2012
We found quite a few recruits this time around. These are Pacific Mole Crabs that are less than 10mm long. At times they were crawling all over our feet. In addition we found one Blepharipoda occidentalis (Spiny sand crab). It was truly huge, with a carapace of about 55mm. Great Day!
Orcinus orca!
by Emma R.
What is the difference between an estuary and a slough?
Estuaries are usually found where a creek or a river meets the sea.
Because the water in a slough is brackish, (a mixture of fresh and saltwater) it hosts a large array of unique plant and wildlife. Many species of wildlife rely on estuaries for food, breeding grounds and housing. A slough is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world.
Human populations also rely on estuaries for food, recreation and employment. As a result, many towns and cities have been built on or near a slough. Unfortunately this has lead to a decline of the health of the sloughs, making estuaries one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world.
We should do our very best in trying to preserve these very important habitats so that we can learn from and enjoy the wonderful life that they provide.
by Emma I.
Insect Invertebrates in the Goleta Slough
Our friend Dr. Michael Caterino, entomologist at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, introduced us to the insects that both depend upon the slough for their existence and help keep it healthy.
We went to the Goleta Slough and found red mites, stink
bugs, spiders, caterpillars, flies and larvae. We need bugs. This is their natural habitat. Larger bugs eat the smaller bugs. Birds eat insects and coyotes eat birds. — Owen
We went to the Goleta Slough. We found many different kinds of insects and
larvae. The bugs live in the slough for
many different reasons. Birds eat
insects so it is a whole circle of life that goes on an on. — Catalina
Creek Monitoring At Patterson Ave. and the Bikepath
We decided to see what the water quality was like downstream from the school along the Maria Ygnacio Creek. After passing through a couple of miles of residential areas, businesses and farmland the water was surprisingly healthy. Last year this section was really bad with high levels of Nitrates (fertilizer runoff) and coliform (poo bacteria).
We were testing at the Maria Ignacio Creek. We were testing water temperature, oxygen,
salinity and other things like nitrates. — Caleb
Where we are right now, salinity was good for aquatic life,
water was ideal for fish, nitrate was good, which means there is not too much
fertilizer, ph was really good, which means it is not too acidic. When you go
down the bike path, nitrate was good for people but not for aquatic life. Ecoli was not good for people but good for
aquatic life. In general, the water was
a little bit better upstream.
— Ryan
El Estero Wastewater Treatment Center
We have learned that everything flow to the ocean; creek water, street run-off, storm drains, and yes, even what goes down the toilet! It's quite a process, and this too affects the health of the ocean if not taken care of properly. Fond memories include the "muffin grinder" and the odor.
We went to the wastewater treatment center. All of the water that goes there comes from
your shower, sinks, toilet, etc. The
first place you go to is called the muffin grinder. It filters out the larger junk and goes to
the landfill. It smelled awful. From there, the water all goes to a settling
tank and from there it goes to a tank that skims off the top foam. Then it goes to the tank that was full of
oxygen and there was so much oxygen in it, you would probably die because it
was like falling into fog but you couldn’t breathe so you would die. From there the water goes somewhere with
black goo. Then they put chemicals into
the water to take out the bad chemicals and they send that water to the ocean. — Sarah Jane
Tidepooling at Coal Oil Point
Cris Elfes lead us through the intertidal zone of Coal Oil Point, a preserve that borders UCSB. We found all kinds of sea stars, anemones, crabs, and a family of sea hares. One of the sea hares was not too excited about being picked up and blessed us with its beautiful purple ink!
We love the tidepooling at Coal Oil
Point. Here are a few of the things we
saw. We saw feather boa kelp, surf grass, encrusted coralline algae, stunted
Turkish towel seaweed, chitons, sea lettuce, a sunburst anenome, welts, turbin
snails, hermit crabs, leaf barnacles, acorn barnacles, starfish as big as my head and sea slugs. My little sister got
inked by one. The ink was there for a
long time.—Natalie and Chloe
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