OPEN SPACES
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
OJAI VALLEY LAND CONSERVANCY NEWS
volume 14 number 2 | summer 2007
Follow the Egret Experiences to grow by
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On a sunny afternoon, a small group of third graders make their way across the Ojai Meadows Preserve, smelling the smells and attending to shiny blue beetles along the path. Suddenly, a student spins around and signals for the others to be quiet. He points toward a great egret maneuvering slowly through the Meadow. The children are spellbound and unmoving, just watching. A quiet discussion ensues, and the group decides only to move with the bird, so they don’t scare it away. As the bird continues, the kids synchronize their every step with the egret’s grace, mimicking each undulation of its sinewy, long neck. The egret stops. Pause. Everyone stops. Waiting. The egret steps forward again, re-initiating this game of “follow the leader,” and the students follow. Suddenly, without warning, the bird takes two large steps, stretching its wings open, and … all at once the children take flight, arms outstretched, soaring over the Meadow together. This game of “follow the egret” arose spontaneously from children feeling connected to nature, capturing their attention, as well as their hearts. Moments like this highlight the invaluable relationships between the Ojai Meadows Preserve and three neighboring schools: Oak Grove School, Meiners Oaks Elementary, and Nordhoff High School. Within a hop, skip and jump, students find themselves at the Preserve -- and in a whole new world of ecological relationships. Restoration of the Ojai Meadows Preserve is no small task and will be ongoing for years. By engaging local schools, the project has become a rare opportunity for building a community around a shared natural place. Students and faculty at the schools are playing a vital role in the restoration project. Oak Grove Environmental Education and Outdoor Coordinator Sara Benjamin starts her school year by collecting acorns to plant on the Preserve. “It’s like an Easter egg hunt!” one excited toddler proclaimed. Students also collect and propagate seeds from native plants in greenhouses at Oak Grove and Meiners Oaks Schools. The kids track the progress of their “little green babies,” caring for
them in the greenhouses and transplanting them on the Meadow. Older students also help with the removal of invasive plant species, digging up non-native grasses and plants in order to make room for the incoming native grasses, shrubs, and trees.
In a time where many children prefer to play indoors because “that's where all the outlets are” (Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods), local outdoor and environmental programs foster genuine and lasting relationships between students and the world outside of the classroom. In addition to working and playing on the Ojai Meadows Preserve, students spend time discovering just what a wetland really is, and why it matters in an interconnected ecological system. It is truly rewarding for students to know that their efforts have helped to attract feathered friends like red-winged blackbirds, herons, hawks, falcons, bluebirds, robins, killdeer, sparrows, meadowlarks, kites, and egrets. Not to mention the chorus of toads and tree frogs in the wetland or the surprise lizard or snake encountered on the trails. OVLC’s partnership with local schools allows students to make real, measurable impacts on the environmental health of their own back yards. Following the egret en route to restoring the Meadow is just one example of how students begin to develop relationships with nature, environmental consciousness, and the confidence of knowing they are making a difference globally by taking simple actions locally. Special thanks to Sara Benjamin and Derek Poultney, co-authors