Watershed Restoration at Richmond, CA Field Site: Science Education Partnership

The University of California Berkeley owns a field research station in Richmond, California, a few miles from the central campus. Wetlands, and tidal marsh environments cover a significant part of the site. Metals, primarily mercury, but also arsenic and copper as well as PCBs, have been removed from the wetlands under order from the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The University contracted with a professional organization, The Watershed Project, to renew/restore the wetlands from which the metals and PCBs had been removed. This renewal/restoration project is being used in research and teaching in courses and independent study projects. The Watershed Project scientists, specialists in wetlands restoration, come to the Berkeley Campus to lecture in a Bay Area environmental issues class on wetlands values and on processes in restoration of wetlands. Some environmental science students take a field study course in which they go to the wetlands restoration site to learn "hands-on" restoration techniques from The Watershed Project specialists and to gain practical experience. Students write an analysis of their learning experience while under the supervision of The Watershed Project specialists to satisfy course requirements. Berkeley faculty and The Watershed Project scientists collaborate in planning the student learning and research experience in these wetlands. The close collaboration among faculty, The Watershed Project scientists and students has been a rewarding experience for all. This program has been in place for four years.