The inspiration for this project is to address the effects of ongoing drought in California . The drought has created a lack of habitat for local species and we would like our students to engage in a problem-based project to convert a high-water-use lawn area to gardens designed to attract and sustain local wildlife species.
Our habitat Gardens will have an ongoing purpose of providing educational opportunities to students and the general public. The first phase of the project will involve a project-based student project to apply the principles of ecology and sustainability to the the development of habitat gardens and the second and long-term phase will involve ongoing community involvement and hands-on ecological research for students. In the long-term phase, students will maintain and monitor habitat plots and collect and interpret data to determine the effectiveness of native plants in attracting and maintaining species.
