Hero Image

Northern CA PPSR Projects 1

Return to Main Map of Local & Regional Projects

Welcome to our ongoing effort to catalog citizen science and other public participation in scientific research (PPSR) projects for UC California Naturalists and other citizen scientists.  We invite you to browse the listed projects or enter key words (like birds, youth, invasive, coast, Alameda, etc.) in the search box above to find projects in your area. It's a great way to stay involved and keep developing your skills as a natural scientist!

A vast majority of the information in the database was gathered from project websites and may be out of date. We encourage you to contact projects directly to get involved and learn about most recent opportunities. If you work with a listed project and would like to add to, update, or correct the information we have, please email cghdixon@ucdavis.edu. Also, please consider filling out the "PPSR perspectives" survey. Click here to access the survey, which will help guide this project in the coming year.

If you know of a project not on our list, please go to the "tell us about a project" link on the left so we can list the project here. Thanks for your help!

Special thanks goes to the National Science Foundation Informal Science Education program and the Stephen J. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation for supporting this database of projects.

Watershed Education Summit (WES) Conference

  • Organization Name
    Collaboration between school districts and state agencies
  • Project Website
  • Organization Website
  • Partners
    El Dorado Resource Conservation District; CA Water Resources Control Board Clean Water Team; Oak Ridge HS; El Dorado HS; Golden Sierra HS; Union Mine HS; El Dorado National Forest
  • Contact Name
    N / A
  • Contact Email
    watershedsummit@watershedsummit.org
  • Contact Phone
    N / A
  • Other Contact Information
    N / A
  • Project Purpose (taken from project materials)

    Monitor physical and biological parameters of three tributaries near Union Valley Reservoir in the El Dorado National Forest. One creek was impacted by recreational usage, one was logged, and another was remote and considered pristine. The project also provides an opportunity for students to learn watershed monitoring techniques and be exposed to natural resource career choices.

  • Participant Activities

    Every October students from Golden Sierra, El Dorado, Oak Ridge, and Union Mine high schools travel to Union Valley Reservoir in the El Dorado National Forest. Professional Foresters, Wildlife Biologists, State Water Quality Resource Specialists, Resource Conservation District personnel, and teachers work together with students for three days collecting physical and biological data about the creeks.

  • Data Entry
    • Collection Kits
    • Data Sheets
  • Other Participant Activities

    WES has also conducted programs in Russia's Lake Baikal watershed.

  • System Studied
    • Plants
    • Water Quality
    • Invertebrates
    • Wetlands - Freshwater Streams and Marshes
  • Geographic Scope
    Local
  • Region
    El Dorado
  • Location
    Wench Creek, Jones Fork, and Rubicon River in El Dorado National Forest
  • Location - Map
    Union Valley Reservoir El Dorado National Forest, California
  • Time Commitment
    • Once a year
  • Volunteer Qualifications

    Participants are students from Golden Sierra, El Dorado, Oak Ridge, and Union Mine high schools

  • Volunteer Training

    Before teachers and students venture into the woods, a teacher training and quality control/equipment calibration session is held to familiarize teachers with new technologies and protocols that will be used in the monitoring. During the four-day event, students, teachers, and resource professionals work together to complete the following tasks: stream cross-sections, stream gradient and stream water flow and velocity measurements, substrate pebble counting, macroinvertebrate sampling, shade measurement, Global Positioning Satellite data collection, water chemistry testing, riparian vegetation measurement, and large woody debris location. 

  • Cost to Participant
    N / A
  • How will the findings be used?

    The El Dorado NF uses the collected data in the El Dorado National Forest stream survey database. 

  • Other Information

    Monitoring protocols are accessible at http://www.watershedsummit.org/protocols.html

  • Photo
    N / A
  • last update:
    1/3/13

If you work with this project and would like to add to or update the information below, please email cghdixon@ucdavis.edu.

If you know of a project not on our list, please go to the "tell us about a project" link on the left so we can list the project here. Thanks for your help!

This database is focused on projects in California focused on the environment. For opportunities outside California, as well as national projects that don't have a California-specific components, check http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/projects.