In our latest Conservation Collaboration Agreement, students leave the classroom setting to connect with and grow appreciation for nature.
“Of course, we must strive to preserve nature because it is our essence. If you do not choose to love our foundation, our existence, you are neglecting yourself. Our relationship with nature is key to our survival and our children’s survival.” —Lilly Parry, Campolindo High School student
From Classroom to Preserve
Save Mount Diablo presented to all five of the environmental science classes at Campolindo High School in their classroom on October 23.
Save Mount Diablo staff greets the incoming students at Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve.
Just a few days later, on October 28, about 30 students made their way to Save Mount Diablo’s 207.8-acre Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve in Concord.
The preserve is located between the Crystyl Ranch residential development in Concord and Lime Ridge Open Space in Walnut Creek.
Save Mount Diablo provided some snacks and refreshments while everyone shared introductions.
Students were then split into groups and taken deep into the preserve to put some of those classroom lessons to use. They would hone their understanding of and connections to nature, and participate in ongoing stewardship activities.
Campolindo High School students and Save Mount Diablo Executive Director, Ted Clement, head into the preserve.
Learning in the Field
Save Mount Diablo staff educating students on the natural history at Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve.
Our staff spoke with the students about the greater history of Mount Diablo as a whole. Staff also described specific elements like the misunderstandings that led to the name we use for the mountain today.
Likewise, the students learned the background behind the name of the preserve’s Chupcan Trail.
Throughout the experience, staff also pointed out specific plants and their cultural or ecological significance. These plants included mugwort, buckeyes, valley oaks, milkweed, wild rose, desert olive, sagebrush, and many more.
Local wildlife also put on quite the show for the students and staff, including a variety of raptors, woodpeckers, a young buck. And just before things got underway, staff even spotted a North American river otter.
Campolindo High School students and Save Mount Diablo Executive Director, Ted Clement, admiring a nearby hawk in flight.
Getting into the Weeds
Campolindo High School students hiking to their service project site.
Students learned about best practices regarding tool safety for use and transport before gearing up and heading into Galindo Creek to eradicate some rather nasty invasive plant species.
Those species mainly included a recent discovery of Arundo donax (giant reed), and Dittrichia graveolens (stinkwort) found in and around the creek.
The students were given a background on these invasive plants.
Save Mount Diablo staff prepare Campolindo High School students for their service project.
Staff described how these invasives can colonize an area so heavily that they end up crowding out the nearby natives to produce a monoculture. The staff mentioned this situation is not unlike the naturalized grasses that are present on nearby hills.
The students then grabbed trash bags before heading into the creek to get hands-on instruction on how to properly eradicate the invasive plants. They worked in smaller groups in sections along the creek.
Campolindo High School students participate in removing invasive plants from Galindo Creek.
Students then enjoyed a lunch break before swapping activities.
Reflection on Connection to the Natural World
Campolindo High School students heading out to their solo journaling project.
Children spend significantly less time outdoors than was once normal, which is believed to be a contributor to the epidemic of loneliness we are now seeing.
Their lack of time in nature is part of why we started our Conservation Collaboration Agreement program.
A Campolindo High School student reflecting and journaling at Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve under an oak tree.
Going into the solo reflection portion of the day’s activities, the students headed atop the preserve. We asked them to find an oak tree to sit below while reflecting on the following:
What is nature and what is my purpose in it?
A Campolindo High School student working on their solo journaling project.
One student, Lilly Parra, wrote:
When we explore our purpose, we tend to neglect our essence. Essence is complex to ponder, but in reality, we must resort to the basics.
Nature is energy, our motivation. We think our relationships with other beings are key to “being motivated,” but would those relationships exist without our coexistence to nature?
Native Americans cherished this land we built alien, metal inventions on top of, it is blatant disrespect.
Our role in nature is two things that are polar opposites. One, to preserve it, and two, to ruin and replace. Of course, we must strive to preserve nature because it is our essence.
If you do not choose to love our foundation, our existence, you are neglecting yourself. Our relationship with nature is key to our survival and our children’s survival.
The thing that keeps me going is nature’s complete indifference to our existence, even if our existence negatively affects it. This indifference makes me empathize with Earth. It has no choice, it has no opinion, it simply accepts.
That is why humans must consider strengthening their relationship with their surroundings because it just accepts our poisoning.
Save Mount Diablo Executive Director, Ted Clement gives Campolindo High School students a sendoff speech.
By the end of the program, the students had a newfound understanding of specific species, native and non-native, a lesson on the history of the area, and a deeper connection to the land around them.
Since the inception of our Conservation Collaboration Agreement program, Save Mount Diablo has completed 22 CCAs, six of which were with Campolindo High School.
All photos by Alexander Broom
