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10/9/09 -- Marin County Board of Supervisors Lauds STRAW
Marin County Board of Supervisors Lauds The Bay Institute’s Watershed Education Program
STRAW Completes 100,000 Linear Feet of Creek and Wetland Restoration
Novato, CA, October 8, 2009 – The Bay Institute today announced that The Marin County Board of Supervisors has acknowledged the service that its STRAW (Students And Teachers Restoring a Watershed) program has imparted in educating students about environmental stewardship, providing teacher support and creating community partnerships in restoring Marin County watershed ecosystems.
The Board of Supervisors’ resolution specifically highlights STRAW’s milestone 100,000 feet of creek and wetland restoration, which was completed by working together with students, teachers and community partners.
Begun 17 years ago as the “Shrimp Project” by a fourth-grade class at BrooksideSchool in Marin, this award-winning program of The Bay Institute has engaged more than 25,000 students in 275 habitat restorations on rural and urban creeks, planting over 25,000 native creek plants.
Today, STRAW sustains a network of teachers, students and restoration specialists that plan and implement watershed studies and restoration projects in Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties. Its project-based learning approach empowers students, supports teachers, restores the environment and reconnects communities.
“STRAW is a grassroots program that brings together students and teachers; environmental, agricultural, academic and government organizations; and the community in a hands-on program that delivers visible results that improve the quality of the watershed,” commented The Bay Institute’s Watershed Education Director Laurette Rogers. She noted that the 100,000 linear mark will be completed this autumn at Murphy Ranch on Stemple Creek.
STRAW is the focus of A Simple Question, a documentary that chronicles the evolution of an effective new form of community-based environmental action. The premier—which includes discussions with the filmmakers and STRAW leaders—is free to the public at the San Francisco Public Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin St. on October 21 at 6pm.
