In the News

Schoolchildren Learn About the Environment Firsthand
date posted: December 22 2005

Lake Tahoe Report #88
Oct. 8, 2004
By John Cobourn and Heather Segale


Over 120 people participated in the daylong Symposium for Environmental Education in Tahoe Schools in Incline Village on Sept. 28. The Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition (LTEEC) and the educators in its K-12 program group organized the symposium. The goal was to get agency representatives and teachers together to shine the spotlight on innovative programs in place-based learning.

In place-based learning, students go out into their communities and environments and use them as a context for learning science, math, language arts, and social sciences. Students experience real-world connections to what they are studying and enjoy feeling a sense of place.

Extensive research has shown that students become more engaged and enthused about learning and present less discipline problems when they study their home environment and learn about how they can protect it. Such students also score better on the standardized tests mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act.

One example of a place-based learning program in our community is Marine Research and Education, Inc. (MR&E). Dean Lockwood and John Shearer founded this nonprofit organization in 1998. It provides an educational program to promote conservation of natural resources in the Tahoe Basin in simple, easy-to-understand methods and language.

The MR&E program is an exciting, hands-on experience intended for children in grades K-12 and other community organizations. MR&E currently consists of two main programs: place-based field trips and a citizen water-monitoring effort called the South Lake Tahoe Clean Water Team. Field trips are comprised of two segments: an on-land classroom and an on-the-water classroom aboard the vessel “Prophet.”

On land, students learn about the ecology of the Tahoe Basin through a model of the lake. They learn how problems, such as surface runoff, erosion, and pollution, affect the quality and clarity of the water. The indoor classroom activities vary depending on grade level. These activities are most appropriate for meeting teaching standards for grades 3, 5 and high school in Nevada, and grades 3, 6 and high school in California. The program meets standards in several subject areas, including water quality, geology, pollution, the water cycle, watersheds, aquatic ecology, and food web dynamics.

On the “Prophet,” students and volunteers use real scientific methods, such as secchi disc monitoring, plankton trawling, microscope viewing and water quality testing, to help apply knowledge gained in the classroom. Sometimes the on-the-water classroom is a student’s first time ever aboard a boat or on Lake Tahoe’s waters. This experience can have a lasting impact on how individuals view their watershed, their community, and the importance of stewardship. From the shore, students can see how blue Tahoe’s waters are, but from a boat, students can see firsthand the magnificent clarity of that water.

Most often, teachers arrange to bring their class on a field trip to the MR&E facility, 900 Ski Run Blvd, #102, South Lake Tahoe. Field trips are available during the fall and spring, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. The cost for participants is $10 each. To make the experience more accessible and affordable, MR&E seeks donations through the Adopt A Class program. Individuals and businesses are encouraged to help provide funding so that entire classrooms are able to participate in this unforgettable experience. For more information, to make a donation, or to book a reservation for next spring, call Jenny Francis, (530) 544-7409.

The Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition is working with teachers throughout the basin to develop and expand place-based learning projects. To get involved in this effort, call Heather Segale, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, (775) 832-4138.