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On an overcast Tuesday (April 13) several small hands went to work to pull English ivy and Periwinkle from sites within the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project members Bess Ballantine and Anna Glasgow coordinated a volunteer day with the students at Agnes Johnson Elementary School in Weott.

The students walked from the school to the sites, which were just down the road from their school. The students had a great day of pulling weeds for a short period, a chance to play some games, and to eat cookies donated from Ramone’s Bakery and Café. This was a fun end to a six-week period of teaching Real Science to the students at Agnes Johnson. Americorps Watershed Stewards Project has been a part of teaching Real Science at Agnes Johnson for several years and this volunteer day was a great way to get more involved with the students. It helped the students have hands-on experience with ways to help our watershed and ultimately anadromous salmonids. The end of the day was summed up with a Redwood tree planting by Michelle Forys of California State Parks. A sense of accomplishment was showing across all the young faces when they saw their trees being planted.

This day would not have been able to happen without the great support of the teachers at Agnes Johnson; Adele Anderson, Theresa Martin, and Barbara Stafslien, as well as parent helpers, and fellow AmeriCorps WSP members. We also had great support from Wildberries Market Place in Arcata, the Surfside Burger Shack in Eureka, and North Valley Bank in Eureka.

The mission of the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project is to conserve, restore, and enhance anadromous watersheds for future generations by linking education with high quality scientific practices.

The AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project, a special program of the California Conservation Corps, is administered by CaliforniaVolunteers and sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Agnes Johnson School’s kindergarten and 1st grade class with Michelle Forys of California State Parks and Bess Ballantine and Anna Glasgow of AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project.