A focal point of SBA teaching and learning is, increasingly, engaging all the senses through hands-on experience.
With the addition this year of
our trips program (click
HERE if you missed my previous post on the subject) and field experiences such as the recent Tahoe Basin Watershed Education Summit, experiential learning is emerging as a hallmark of the SBA academic experience.
Seven SBA student-athletes camped three nights at Blackwood Canyon from Oct. 3rd-6th, conducting an extensive watershed assessment in support of the US Forest Service's efforts to restore this sensitive and important ecosystem.
Thank you to SBA tenth-grader Sam Zabell for the following report of his experience in Blackwood Canyon!
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| Sam Zabell in his TBWES tee-shirt |
"The Tahoe Basin Watershed Education Summit was a great experience. It provided us with the opportunity to talk with experts in the fields of hydrology, geology, ornithology, as well as scientists from the Tahoe-Baikal Institute. We were able to use high-tech, professional instruments to take measurements of real data through streambed cross sections and do engaging fieldwork. By participating in this summit, I was exposed to a wide array of sciences and jobs in the field... It has left me with a greater understanding of water sciences and how watersheds function."
Biology teacher Andy Giordano offered the following retrospective of the experience: "Our students had an awesome time, learned a bunch and impressed the other adults that were there. I think we made some very positive connections to the Basin educational and environmental communities and showed some folks just how incredible our students can be."
Click
HERE to learn more about the TBWES and
HERE to view Andy Giordano's slide show from the field.
