Project WET
in-service

Education and outreach program resources

West Nile Virus alert

Events and curriculum

Videostream of watershed management

Workshop at Black Diamond Mines

California's Whale Tail Grants

Project WET in-service includes hands-on demonstrations of the lessons and activities in the Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide (see right).

Participants receive the curriculum and guide free.

The next workshops are:

Oct 21, 9 a.m.- 3:30 p.m.

Feb 24, 9 a.m.- 3:30 p.m.

To register contact
Kathy Machado

All costs of the Project WET workshops are funded by the
Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Scheduling classroom presentations and tours is under way. Contact: Kathy Machado (408) 265-2607, ext. 2331, to schedule a presentation for your classroom.

The following services and resources are available. They are developmentally sequenced and aligned to state standards for
Pre-Kindergarten up to College classrooms.

Classroom presentations
The presentations include hands-on experiments, conservation tips, watershed awareness and urban runoff activities, water quality and supply information, flood protection information and careers in the water industry.

1. Alamitos Groundwater Recharge Facility
2. Christmas Hill Park, Ranch Site ( Gilroy )
3. Coyote Creek Outdoor Classroom
4. Morley Park Outdoor Classroom.

• Overview of resources available, a resource list by grade
• cassette tapes, songs, videos, CD roms
• games, online quiz
• water science activities

To learn more about our resources, please visit the Santa Clara Valley Water District website and click on our educational page.

top of page

Upcoming events

Oct. 22, 2005
Field trip to the Black Mines

Oct. 22, 2005
Field trip to the Black Mines

Oct. 21, 2005
Feb. 24, 2006
Project WET

Nov. 4, 2005
JASON teacher training at Moffett Field

March 1-4, 2006     
California Association for Bilingual Education, 31st Annual Conference

Jan. 30 - Feb. 4, 2006
JASON Project at NASA for students

May 26, 2006  
Water Wizard Festival for third graders at Guadalupe River Park

CABE California Bilingual Education

Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society

NASA Ames Education - the JASON Project

Fight West Nile Virus - dump standing water!
Help prevent mosquitos from even breeding.

West Nile Virus alert in Santa Clara County

Most people who are infected with the West Nile virus will not have any type of illness. It is estimated that about 20 percent of the people who become infected will develop West Nile fever. The symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness and body aches, occasionally with a skin rash on the trunk of the body and swollen lymph glands.

The symptoms of severe infection ( West Nile encephalitis or meningitis) include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. Last year in California , about 20 percent of infected persons showed symptoms (about 80 percent of persons clinically infected showed no overt symptoms), about 12 percent of infected persons developed neurological issues, and 0.7 percent died. 

If you have to work outdoors:

1) Apply insect repellent containing DEET (N-diethyl-meta-toluamide). Read and follow the instructions on the label.  

2) Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants treated with repellents containing DEET, since mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing.

3) If you spray your clothing with DEET, there is no need to spray repellent on skin protected under your clothing.  

4) If your job permits, consider staying indoors at dawn, dusk and in the early evening, which are peak mosquito biting times.  

5) The Centers for Disease Control has recently announced two other repellents are comparable with DEET products of similar concentration: the chemical picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus.

6) Target the source. protect yourself, your family and your students. Get more facts at  the Santa Clara County Vector Control District website, or call (408) 792-5010

Calendar details

Oct. 22  14th annual Audubon Wildlife Education Day, 10 am to 2 p.m. at McClellan Ranch Park in Cupertino.  For details call (408) 252-3740 or visit The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society's Educational Outreach site

Jan 30-Feb. 4  JASON Project at NASA for students

Mar. 1-4 CABE (California Association for Bilingual Education) 31st annual conference, McEnery Convention Center, San Jose  For details call CABE Headquarters at (626) 814-4441, ext. 104,
or the CABE website.

May 26  Water Wizard Festival for third graders at Guadalupe River Park & Gardens in San Jose. Contact Kary Wilson at (408)298-7657 or email  karywilson@sbcglobal.net

Explore Both Worlds
NASA Ames Education presents JASON Expedition: Mysteries of Earth and Mars. Dr. Robert Ballard and a team of scientists will take middle-grade students and teachers on the trip of a lifetime--to Mars! JASON is a supplemental science program with interdisciplinary connections to math, science, social studies and language arts. This program is FREE and includes a multimedia curriculum package. For more information or to register, call Will Shaw, 650-604-0857, or email wshaw@mail.arc.nasa.gov .  To learn more about the program, go to the JASON website.

Plastic Debris Rivers to Sea Conference
Approximately 60 to 80 percent of marine debris in the world's oceans emanates from land-based sources. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF), California Coastal Commission
and the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment are collaborating to produce a conference addressing the land-based sources of marine debris.

Plastic Debris Rivers to Sea Conference
September 7-9, 2005
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Redondo Beach, California

Featured speakers: Terry Tamminen, California Cabinet Secretary and former coastal and ocean protection advocate; William McDonough, author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things; Philippe Cousteau, President of Earth Echo International and grandson of Jacques Cousteau; Captain Charles Moore, founder of Algalita Marine Research and intrepid ocean voyager and debris buster; Daniel Imhoff: author of Paper or Plastic: Searching for Solutions to an Overpackaged World

Send your comments
Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Please send your comments and suggestions regarding this education newsletter to Kathy Machado.

To unsubscribe:
To unsubscribe from this distribution list, reply to cru@valleywater.org and include "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Report on California 's Ocean Economy
California's Ocean Economy, highlighting the importance of the ocean and coast to California 's economy, was released by the California Resources Agency at the first California Ocean and Coastal Economic Summit.

This report is the most comprehensive of its kind in the country, to date. It provides conclusive evidence that California has the most significant ocean economy in the nation.

For technical questions regarding the report, contact Dr. Judith Kildow at (831) 582-3223.
For questions regarding the report contact Brian Baird, assistant secretary for ocean and coastal policy, at (916) 657-0198 .

California Coastweeks: September 17 - October 9
The California Coastal Commission is California's coordinator for Coastweeks, a national celebration of our coastal and water resources. This year Coastweeks was from September 17 through October 9. Click here for an online calendar of coastal and water-related events taking place throughout the state.

For information, on the Santa Clara County cleanup efforts on Coastal Cleanup Day, see the Creek Connections Action Group website or call the Santa Clara Valley Water District Communications hotline (408) 265-2607 ext. 2238.
Volunteer to help clean a creek in your school's neighborhood.

This newsletter includes information for teachers, educators and parents
to teach our students, our future voters and leaders, about one of our most precious resources - water.

Santa Clara Valley
Water District
5750 Almaden Expressway
San Jose, CA 95118

(408) 265-2607, ext. 2331

"Max goes to Mars" available to libraries

MAX GOES TO MARS, by Jeffrey Bennett - Coming fall 2005

This book will be available to school districts expressing interest for their elementary school libraries. The author writes, "I'd love to include all your districts in the donation program. But please let me know soon, as nearly 4,000 of the 5,000 donation copies are already spoken for."

Each school district needs to agree to receive the books at a central location and distribute one book to each elementary school within the district. The following districts are already receiving books (so if you're in one of these, you're already covered): Houston, TX, New Orleans, LA, St. Paul, MN, Tucson, AZ, Ann Arbor, MI, Los Angeles Unified in California, New York City, Sonoma County, CA, Manteca CA, Grand Prairie TX, Nacogdoches TX, and the entire states of Colorado, Hawaii and Vermont.

Below are awards and recommendations for the book:

* Listed on the NASA Quest booklist for K-8
* A Parents' Choice Foundation Award Winner
* A National Science Teachers Association recommended book (grades K-8)

Contact the author at: jeffrey.bennett@comcast.net or at
Jeffrey Bennett's website.

Field trip to Black Diamond Mines and free lunch!

Workshop and field trip for teachers: Sat., Oct. 22
Barbecue lunch will be provided to participants by the NCGS.

To celebrate National Earth Science Week 2005, the Northern California Geological Society (NCGS) and the Educators Academy of the East Bay Regional Park District are co-hosting a special day for teachers at Black Diamond Mines near Antioch. The day will begin at 9 a.m. with an orientation and slide presentation in
the underground theatre to introduce the teachers to the geology and cultural history. This will be followed by a mine tour through part of the Hazel Atlas Mine, led by geologists from NCSG and naturalists of the East Bay Regional parks. The field trip ends
at 5 p.m.

The cost of the field course (Course 9369) is $49 (Alameda/Contra Costa County residents) and $51 for non-residents. One academic unit is available (add $49). The NCGS will provide a $15 subsidy to each teacher the morning of Oct. 22.

Call (510) 636-1684 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Have the course numbers and a credit card ready.

For more infoformation see the Black Diamond Mines workshop brochure.

top of page

This grant program distributes funds from sales of the California Coastal Commission's Whale Tail Coastal protection license plate. The plate is an official "specialty" plate issued by the California DMV.

Proceeds from the sales of the plates benefit the California Coastal Commission's Adopt-A-Beach Program, California Coastal Cleanup Day and a wide variety of coastal and marine education projects throughout the state.

The California Coastal Commission is now accepting applications for coastal and marine education projects. Schools, nonprofits and governments may apply for funding to support programs that encourage people to value and take action to improve the health of California's coast, marine life or inland watersheds, with an emphasis on reaching underserved students and members of the public. Educational beach maintenance and coastal habitat restoration programs are also eligible. Applicants may request any amount up to $50,000 and 25-50 percent of the funding will be allocated in small grants under $10,000.  The total to be distributed is $413,500.

Deadline is December 10, 2005 
Application for the 2005-2006 grant

See The Coastal Commission site and click on Whale Tail Grants (left navigation bar) for more details and guidelines, or call
(800) COAST-4U.

top of page