HUNTINGTON BEACH : Kids Enjoy Ecosystem Classrooms

Kevin Cavanaugh raised his voice just enough to be heard over the din of the oil derrick 50 feet behind him.

“OK, everybody look with your eyes first. You can use the binoculars later,” he told a group of 15 second-graders, pointing to the snowy egret treading through the the marsh water of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

“See how he wiggles his feet? He’s using his toes like worms to catch the fish.”

“Ohh, look,” responded several of the kids. “Look, he got one!”

Cavanaugh is one of five naturalists for the Orange County Department of Education’s new outdoor classroom at the wetlands. Five days a week, Cavanaugh and his colleagues instruct children ages 7 to 13 about the importance of ecosystems such as the Bolsa Chica and why they should be protected.

“Our goal for the whole county is to provide environmental education as a regular part of the school year,” Cavanaugh said. “We like to encourage (the students) about the things we can do and we want them to know that their voice is important. . . . They are sometimes a lot more informed about the environment than adults are.”

On Thursday, two second-grade classes at Robert Gisler Elementary School in Fountain Valley visited the recently opened field study site. The children were taken through four stations: bird watching, a food chain game, water testing and microorganism examination. Near the end of the program, the children were introduced to the hand puppet “Count Trashula” and discussed ways to combat pollution.

“You could maybe pick up some cans and stuff you see on the ground,” said one youngster, causing the Count to cringe in horror.

“That’s right,” Cavanaugh replied, “and what can you do besides picking up garbage?”

“You could take it to the 7-Eleven and turn it in and get money for it,” the child responded, prompting a discussion about recycling.

The Bolsa Chica site is one of the field settings being used by the county for its environmental education program. Partially funded by a grant from Signal Landmark Corp., which is trying to build housing along part of the wetlands, the daylong seminar is geared toward giving children a glimpse of the effects that human beings can have upon wildlife, lead naturalist Janet Yamaguchi explained.

“We try and teach them what will be out here, why it’s important and who’s responsible for keeping it here,” Yamaguchi said. “One thing that’s real interesting to me is how environmentally aware they are--they know things about the malathion sprayings, and the oil spill.”

More than 14,000 students a year visit the outdoor classrooms, including those in Cleveland National Forest, the Marine Institute at Dana Point, Crystal Cove State Park and Upper Newport Bay. Each program is aimed at a different age level.

“Yeah, we learned about the wetlands and about what pollution can do to them, and how to keep the water clean,” Suzie added.