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The Third Grade Education
Program
In 1994, thanks to funding from
the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California,
the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve began a
program to introduce third graders to the natural
environment in which they live. Many of these children
had never been outside a city  environment
before. They had never walked a trail, seen a coyote,
lizard, squirrel, woodpecker or any other animal in
the wild. They had no idea of their connection to
Nature.
The curriculum begins in the classroom
and is coupled with an outdoor program at the Plateau.
The trail experience is led by volunteer Docents who
use age-appropriate story-telling techniques and hands-on
experiences to involve the students. The children
hear about our local history and the Native American
influence on the Reserve.
Since then, over 70,000 children
have been through this program. The success of this
program is evident in the children's faces, and the
enthusiastic way they participate in later discussions
in their classrooms. The program sometimes is the
first educational connection with children who have
had trouble in school. The success is underscored
by the children who return to the Santa Rosa Plateau
Ecological Reserve within weeks and bring their parents.
Unfortunately,
the Metropolitan Water District discontinued the funding
for this program after the 2004-2005 school year.
The Santa Rosa Plateau  Foundation
was formed to raise money to continue this extremely
important program.
Puma Pas De Deux
A benefit for mountain lion research
on the Santa Rosa Plateau. The event takes place at
Plateau Vineyards on May 16, 2009
from 2pm to 6pm.
$25 ticket:
- Entrance to the fundraiser
- Two glasses of wine or soft drink
- Hors d'oeuvres
- Mountain Lion presentation by
the Wildlife Health Center, UC Davis
$100 ticket
- All of the above, plus
- An opportunity to win a life-size
original sculpture of a mountain lion created by
local artist Austin Casson
Please join us for an exciting
afternoon to benefit mountain lion research on the
Santa Rosa Plateau.
For information, call Bobbe
Christ 951-677-0869.
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