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Overview
Overview
What we do in one part of the watershed affects the whole watershed. Travel as the Clear Lake hitch from the tributaries and into the lake as you learn from community members about how the watershed has changed over time, and collect data to support local Tribes, organizations, and agencies working to improve watershed health for all.
Introduce the concept of a watershed with a demonstration that builds the foundation for understanding how water and pollution move. Hear stories from community elders about the changes they have witnessed in the watershed over time. You can discover how people are working to improve watershed health from multiple approaches. Help one pollution cleanup effort by learning how to contribute data on the types and location of debris present in your community. Discover how people are working to improve watershed health from multiple approaches to protect the Clear Lake hitch. Then bring this all together to help make a plan and share it back with the people interviewed and/or organizations involved in Clear Lake’s watershed.
Objectives
Objectives
Understand what a watershed is and how what’s being done in one part of the watershed affects the whole
Understand the cultural importance of the Clear Lake hitch to local Tribes
Have students’ prior knowledge and observations contribute to sense-making
Use data and visuals like photos, maps, and graphs to tell a story
Follow protocols to submit scientific data
Understand links between trash, barriers, and Clear Lake hitch
Develop student questions
Engage with local groups and their projects
Activities
Activities
Watch how water and pollutants move in Clear Lake's watershed
Determine questions to discuss how the watershed has changed over time with elders
Using data visualizations on behalf of the hitch
Explore the data and make a plan for students' communities
What organizations are looking after the watershed and how?
Educator Background
Educator Background
The health of the lake and the health of the people are intertwined. Factors within the watershed such as off-road vehicle use, lakeside construction, wildfires, excess fertilizers, and old septic systems all lead towards creating excess nutrients in Clear Lake. Longer periods of drier weather caused by climate change exacerbate the lake’s water quality issues, and strand the culturally important Clear Lake hitch in pools as the tributaries dry up. A multi-pronged approach that includes regulating agricultural water use, removing illegal water diversions, trash pickups, cultural burns, replanting tule, and more is essential for the hitch’s survival, and improving the lake’s conditions. These efforts are being led by Tribes and local organizations as well as county, state, and federal agencies. Use the list of local resources as orientation to the different pieces that make up Clear Lake's watershed.
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