HUNTINGTON BEACH : Ecosystem Wins in Board Game

Two local college students with a sense of whimsy and a deep concern about the environment have created a board game with a message.

Rochelle Pazanti and Jayson Ruth spent the summer designing Bolsa Chica Bingo with the goal of educating children and adults about the wetlands and mesa.

“The main thing is we hope people will understand what an invaluable ecosystem it is and that the mesa and wetlands together are one working ecosystem,” said Pazanti, 20, of Huntington Beach, a junior in business communications and environmental studies at Chapman University.

Pazanti and Ruth volunteered to take on the project for the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, an environmental group whose goal is to acquire, preserve and restore the 1,700-acre Bolsa Chica area.

They chose the bingo format because “we could produce it cheaply, and everyone is familiar with playing the game,” said Ruth, 21, of Cypress, a junior in environmental biology at Cal State Fullerton.

Flossie Horgan, founder of the environmental group, said the bingo game is a perfect way to get the message across. “The Land Trust’s mission is twofold,” she said, “to educate what’s at risk with development and to raise money for acquisition.”

With a $5,000 grant and another $2,000 from its own funds, the Land Trust paid for the manufacture of 1,000 games, said Eileen Murphy, a board member.

The games, which go on sale this weekend, are priced at $12.50 apiece or $10 each for two or more, Murphy said, with all profits going to the Land Trust’s fund to save Bolsa Chica from development.

Ruth said the game focuses on facts about the wetlands area itself, rather than political issues and controversies that have arisen from proposals to develop Bolsa Chica. “We didn’t want to make it biased,” Ruth said.

As many as five people can play Bolsa Chica Bingo. The game board features color photographs and descriptions of the wetlands and mesa. Land Trust members donated the photographs, which show endangered species and other wildlife, plants and shrubs, Native American artifacts and some of the harm done to them by trash and oil pollution.

Pazanti and Ruth said that creating the game taught them valuable lessons about ecology as well as how to make a product, from concept to manufacture.

“We’re very proud of it,” Pazanti said. “I feel that we have contributed to preserving the ecosystem.

For information about where to purchase Bolsa Chica Bingo, call (714) 960-9939.