Fifty-two High Tech Middle Media Arts students are not just reading books”they plan on publishing one. As the recipients of a National Geographic Education Foundation grant, these seventh graders will research, visit and document a portion of the San Diego River near their Point Loma charter school. Ultimately, the students will create a children’s book about their experience to be distributed to libraries and elementary schools throughout the county.
The grant of $5,000, along with some fundraising, will cover the printing costs for almost 200 books promoting geographic literacy. Teachers Andrea Morton and Wes Davis applied to National Geographic last August, forming the project proposal before the school year had officially begun. Their idea was well received by students in the fall, and word that they had been selected as a grant recipient came in December. Morton and Davis were the only teachers honored in California in 2005.
“I was excited about the opportunity to be able to take my students off campus and get them actually out working with their hands and their minds trying to solve a real world problem that faces the city,” Morton said of her initial interest in the grant.
She described the project as a fortuitous merging of interests and opportunities. While Morton keeps the project focused and organized, Davis contributes field experience from college days spent monitoring species and vegetation, restoring riparian areas, and conducting ecological sampling in the Lake Tahoe basin.
“I hope that [the students] remember the big picture that rivers really shape the community and the culture,” Davis said. “And I hope that they get dirty and they don’t worry that their shoes get wet.”
Morton and Davis’ seventh graders are solely responsible for the 30-page book’s research, text, illustration and design. The students are currently working on sketching and painting the main character, a California Gnatcatcher. The bird will narrate readers through a series of adventures that display different parts of the river’s history. Once published, students will have the opportunity to make connections with their former elementary schools to deliver and read a copy.
The first river field trip took place on Jan. 27, an event preceded by in-class research. While the Internet has proven to be a valuable source of information, local organizations and conservationists are also contributing their knowledge to the project.
During the river visit, students were accompanied by Rob Hutsel, executive director of the San Diego River Park Foundation, and Jim Peugh, San Diego Audubon Society conservation chair. Both men have been active stewards of the river, working to promote conservation and responsible development from the watershed in Julian to the ocean outlet near Dog Beach.
Hutsel, known to the students as “River Rob,” will attend most of the field trips and has helped generate ideas on how to care for the area. Under his supervision, the seventh graders will remove invasive plant species, replant native species, pick up trash, test for water quality and possibly design interpretive materials for visitors.
“River Rob has taught us a great deal about the history of the river and how our humanity has channeled the course of the river and directed its flow,” Morton said. “He’s really raised our awareness.”
The students will spend most of their time studying the stretch of river between Interstate 5 and Ocean Beach. Also known as an estuary, this habitat created by fresh water merging with ocean water is especially diverse in vegetation and wildlife. While standing underneath the interstate overpass, students were shocked by the noise, trash and graffiti that invade an otherwise peaceful environment.
“I am horrified by people’s lack of respect for the river,” said student Saul Propp. “I hope to raise awareness about how the river is getting hurt.”
Morton and Davis trust that students will take their experiences and translate them into a positive message of stewardship for the community and a younger generation of learners. At the very least, students are afforded an opportunity to learn outside of the classroom.
“My favorite part of participating in the San Diego River project is that it gives us a chance to interact in something that is happening in the real world instead of sitting around doing tests and filling out worksheets,” said student Cherish Burtson.
The project, which is still in its beginning phase, must be completed before the school year ends in June. The time constraint presents an additional set of challenges for Morton and Davis, yet they remain undaunted.
“Having so many tasks in such a short time makes the project seem very important to our students, and gives them a sense of urgency that they might not feel if it was something that we did slowly and gradually,” Morton said.
High Tech Middle Media Arts is a particularly nurturing environment for this type of project-based learning. Teachers work in teams of two, sharing core curriculum instruction for approximately 50 students. The same students who attend Morton’s English and history lessons are also enrolled in Davis’ mathematics and science classes. This unique system allows faculty to integrate broader themes across multiple disciplines, such as the river project.
Additionally, High Tech Middle Media Arts is geared toward youngsters interested in journalism, design, art, film or writing. These students are particularly aware of the messages they receive daily from the media, and have crafted a careful and thoughtful message for their book’s audience.
"I hope that, by using the book, we will be able to spread how important it is to save the river,” said student Harshal Bhakta.
Hutsel is optimistic that the students will use the information he provides to help the greater community care for one of San Diego’s most valuable resources.
“[The San Diego River Park Foundation’s] expectations are that they are going to produce this wonderful resource that is going to be shared not only with other students, but also with adults and it will be from their perspective,” Hutsel said.
At the heart of the project is service. Morton expects that these middle school students will exit the experience feeling powerful because of the genuine impact they will have had on their environment and their peers.
“It takes a lot of little steps to make a big difference, and if you can learn that at the age of 11, 12 or 13 and embrace it and keep it with you for the rest of your life, you are going to have a very powerful effect on the world,” Morton said.
For more information on the San Diego River Park Foundation or High Tech Middle Media Arts, visit www.sandiegoriver.org or www.hightechmiddle.org, respectively.