Through participation in a set of activities specially designed for high school and middle school youth from diverse communities, young people will gain an understanding of their local watersheds, resident wildlife and their habitats, and learn to measure small bodies of waters.

Pond Boy with Pole

Pond Bird Nest

USFS staff and State Foresters, working in concert with county UCCE 4-H Youth Development Advisors, will serve as "coaches" for teams of 3-4 high school age teens that will be trianed to conduct the activities with middle school youth, and will provide assistance to the participants in completing the field work. A teen training will be held in Colsua county for approximately 20 teens from Tehama and Colusa counties and repeated at the 2002 State 4-H Leadership Conference.

Pond Mapping Crew

The trained high school age teens and their "coaches" will conduct the field activities with 40-60 middle school youth in various locations, overa 4-6 week period. The project will clulminate in the participants producinga printed and digital formated map showing both the perimeter and the depth contours of a lake or pond located in the local watershed.

Measuring Pond Depth

The maps will be posted on the USFS and 4-H web sites and included in printed publications producted by the USFS for distribution to forest visitors. A project coofdiantor will monitor the activitis at the fur sites and coordiante the curriculum devleopment, pilot testing, revisions, and preapre a Power Point Presentation to be used by 4-H, USFS, and Department of Forestry (CDF) staff to publicize the project at state and national 4-H and environmental educators meetings.

The Pond