Big Ideas From Tiny Sprouts : Adults Hope Conservation Ethic Takes Root From Plant Field Trip
Dozens of children took to the hills of San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday morning to save a dying plant community.
“I’m happy to be here because I don’t think they should be destroyed,” said Justin Michael, 8, who helped plant seedlings of coastal sage scrub. “I won’t be pulling weeds anymore without knowing what they are because I might be destroying some plants.”
Justin and other pupils at Learning Community Center, an alternative school in the Laguna Beach Unified School District, have been studying the scrub and how the species has been dwindling because of development.
The 54 pupils, ages 7 to 10, took what they have learned back to nature with a visit to the Ronald W. Caspers Regional Wilderness Park and the Tree of Life Nursery next door on Ortega Highway. They spent half the morning touring the park and the other half learning about the coastal sage scrub and other native plants with the help of a UC Irvine biologist.
As adults guided them at the nursery, the children potted and watered more than 100 of the nearly extinct scrub. The nursery, which specializes in native California plants, will care for the children’s seedlings until they are big enough to transplant into the school’s garden. The scrub is a small, silvery plant that grows on the coast of California.
By the end of their excursion, the pupils--their hands full of mud and their clothes stained with soil--were happy with their hard day’s work. Before heading back to school, they vowed to do what they can to preserve the environment.
“The environment is going to disappear,” said Jeffrey Maloney, 8. “The scrub, which is also a habitat for animals, is disappearing too, and I feel very sad about that.
“I’m glad I’m here today to help them grow again. Adults should do things like us, take field trips and get to know nature and perhaps save some plants like we’re doing.”
Their tour guide, Richard MacMillen of UCI, said he wanted to expose the youngsters to nature so they could learn about themselves and their environment. He has applied for a grant to start a statewide program in conservation education for elementary schools.
His son, Ian, 7, is a pupil at the Laguna Beach school.
“Most of the attitude with respect to environmental issues becomes fixed in kids’ minds at a certain age,” MacMillen said. “When they actually see the plants and animals in their natural habitat, the kids will begin to understand the importance of nature about them and their responsibility for protecting and improving it.”
After touring Caspers, where rangers explained the mutual dependence of wildlife and plants, Kyra Pitt, 10, decided that she had learned more about nature outdoors than she would have sitting in class.
“It’s funner than sitting in a chair writing because we can help the environment more by being here,” Kyra said. “We can change the world (more) by learning little things about seedlings and plants here than we would looking at a chalkboard.”
