Community Outreach
Expressing Gratitude to Cal Fire
The first thing that we did was thank the firefighters. The kids at Mount Madonna School were extremely grateful for all the work that the firefighters did to put out the fire, so we wanted to reach out. The whole middle school helped make a hand painted sign with our Art teacher, and we put it on the road in front of the school for the fire fighters to see as they drive by to fight the fire.
Little Buddies
Mount Madonna School has an existing buddy program where big and little buddies share learning experiences together. After learning about seed collecting, we organized a day to teach our little buddies about our project, wildfires, and seed collecting. We took our second grade little buddies into the forest and showed them how to collect three types of seeds for our seed bank, madrones, manzanitas, and coyote bush.
You can find out more about the Mount Madonna School Buddy program by following this link: https://www.mountmadonnaschool.org/hawk-life/buddy-program/
Outreach in our Action Plan
Forest Nursery and Seed Bank
Both the Forest Nursery and Seed Bank will be enduring resources for Mount Madonna School students, and others, to learn about forest ecology with real world projects. Students can conduct research, learn by doing, volunteer in service to our environment, and get their hands dirty. Click on the corresponding links to learn about the Forest Nursery and Forest Seed Bank.
Forest Ecology Summer Camp
In the summer of 2017 we will be hosting a Forest Ecology Summer Camp for 5th graders - 8th graders in the greater community. This summer camp will also be a volunteer opportunity for middle and high school students. Click here to learn more about the summer camp.
Ask the Experts
We contacted experts to learn directly from the people doing the work in the field. Maddie Erbe contacted UCSC and connected us with Alex Jones, the UCSC Campus Natural Reserve Manager, to set up a field trip at the Forest Ecology Research Plot so that we could learn more about forest restoration. We interviewed volunteer firefighter, Rami Vissell, about her experience fighting the flames at the Loma Fire. Click here to learn more.
Loma Fire Site
You can learn more about what we are doing around the Loma Fire Site here. This is still in development.
Restoration
We are working with Cal Fire to coordinate a trip to help with restoration efforts in Loma Prieta. We are planning to donate plants in Spring 2017 to the victims of the Loma Fire.
Photography Exhibit
We are planning a Loma Fire site visit to photograph the aftermath. We would like to create a photography exhibit to share in public spaces to raise awareness about wildfires and climate change, the future of forests in California, and our project.
community Support
We wrote a request for materials and expertise from our community. We sent it out via email, posted it on our school website and E-News. You can find a copy of the email below, and the website post here: https://www.mountmadonnaschool.org/pots-soil-jars-and-field-guides-seventh-grade-planting-project-call-for-supplies/
