- The Expedition
- Meet the Team
Palm Desert, California — Hike a protected Californian mountain region using GIS technology, traditional knowledge, and field observations to trace plant changes, helping the area respond to nearby development and climate change. In 2000, Congress created the 272, 000 acre Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, including two Federal Wilderness Areas. This protected landscape is only 100 miles away from downtown Los Angeles. Cared for by the United States Forest Service and the United States Bureau of Land Management, the area depends heavily on state, county, and local involvement, and on the commitment of citizens and scientists working together to protect its many natural and cultural resources.
As a volunteer, you’ll help collect solid data on what’s happening with plants in the area, what plants used to be here, and what the effects of current and future management policies could be on the overall health of this ecosystem. Your work will be used to create high quality, place-based land management policies for the future. You’ll be hiking through the study area each day (weather permitting) with scientists and/or experienced field guides, using the latest technology to record precise location data on the plant species you’ll encounter. In the evenings and on non-hiking days, you’ll be at the research base helping organize and analyze the data you’ve collected, as well as historical plant data for the region. Throughout the expedition, you’ll learn about the area and the value of the work you’re doing from expedition leaders and local researchers during evening presentations, trips to research centers, and organized recreational activities.
Find out more about this expedition.
RESOURCES
Earthwatch expedition briefing
Essential information for the expedition - daily schedule, research area details, project conditions etc.
Photo gallery from the expedition.
General:
Climate Change resources
Education Resources from the EPA
The GLOBE Program - International Environmental/Science Education Program
Computer Simulations of Global CO2 Emissions
NOAA education resources
Center for Instruction, Staff Development and Education
North American Associate for Environmental Education
Recommended reading:
Childhood and Nature by David Sobel
Place-based Education: Connecting Classrooms & Communities, With Index by David Sobel and James Tylor and The Center for Ecoliteracy
Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education (Nature Literacy Series, Vol. 1) (Nature Literacy) by Sobel David
Mapmaking with Children: Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years by David Sobel
Children's Special Places: Exploring the Role of Forts, Dens, and Bush Houses in Middle Childhood (The Child in the City Series) by David Sobel
Research site specific:
Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institute
Plants and People Through the Ages
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains
Deep Canyon Desert Research Center
University of California Natural Reserve System
United States Forest Service
United States Bureau of Land Management
California Department of Conservation
Learn about GIS
Follow our blogs as we experience our Earthwatch expedition Mapping Change in California's Mountains Oct 11 - 18, 2009.
This Live From the Field program and educator fellowships are made possible by generous funding from Ahmanson Foundation.
This site is the result of collaborative efforts from the members of this Earthwatch project
and the support of Earthwatch Institute.
Meet the Teachers
Hiriti Belay
Roy Romer Middle School
Los Angeles, CA
Blog: Earthwatch2.org/LFF/Belay
Sujata Bhatt
Grand View Boulevard Elementary School
Santa Monica, CA
Blog: Earthwatch2.org/LFF/Bhatt
Noemi Morales
Van Nuys Middle School
Los Angeles, CA
Blog: Earthwatch2.org/LFF/Morales
Meet the Scientist
Rusty Russell
United States National Herbarium;
Smithsonian Institution
Rusty arrived at the Smithsonian Institution 34 years ago at the age of 21 with a B.S. in Botany from the University of Maryland, and four years later became Collections Manager of the United States National Herbarium. Since then, he’s been responsible for one of the largest research plant collections in the world. As Collections Manager he oversees numerous programs and projects aimed at both preserving these important scientific resources and improving public accessibility to plant species information. Currently, Rusty manages programs covering such diverse subjects as ethnobotany, history of scientific exploration, natural habitat reconstruction, global change, and GIS data management in various localities such as the Pacific Islands, Liberia, northern Mexico and the San Jacinto Mountains, California. Rusty is a frequent lecturer at conferences and scientific meetings in both national and international settings. He has been an Adjunct Lecturer at George Washington University’s Museum Studies Masters Program and has studied and lectured on the Lewis & Clark plant collections and those of the U.S. Exploring Expedition (1838-1842). He’s worked directly with and advised scores of students in high school, university and graduate programs, and has a wealth of experience with Earthwatch volunteers as the Principal Investigator of the long-running Plants and People through the Ages expedition and a 2008 Student Challenge Awards Program expedition which provided the basis for Mapping Change in California’s Mountains.
| Nassau, The Bahamas |
Earthwatch Expedition Briefing
Earthwatch Classroom Earth Case Study
Photographs from the expedition
Year on Earth. Video clip overview of environmental issues facing the coral reefs and various tools used to survey the reefs as told by three students volunteering on the Bahamian Reef Survey expedition.
Blogs from previous teams:
Heather Brown
Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot School
Jamaica Plain, MA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/brown/
Sherrill Dappan
Saint Helena Elementary School
Napa Valley, CA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/dappen/
Denise Deghi
San Mateo Park School
San Mateo, CA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/deghi/
Sarah Hahn
Community Academy of Science and Health
Hyde Park, MA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/boston/
Grace Hancock
Hanover Park High School
Florham Park, NJ
Blog: http://hornetunderwater.blogspot.com
Sarah Mitchell
Johnson Middle School
Bradenton, FL
Blog: http://xit.manatee.k12.fl.us/?blog=SMitchell
Shea Pickelner
City Academy
Salt Lake City, UT
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/pickelner/
Karen Stein
Ridgedale Middle School
Florham Park, NJ
Blog: http://mrsstein.blogspot.com
Consuela Taylor
Charles R. Drew Charter School
Atlanta GA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/taylor/
Kristina Willmarth
Lydia Hawk Elementary School in
Lacey, WA
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/willmarth/
Map
