“Having fields to play in, rocks to turn over, a pond to splash in, and woods to explore were essential to helping me become a biologist. Being exposed to nature helped me develop a curiosity about how the world worked.”

Peter J.S. Franks
Rose Creek Watershed resident and
Professor, Biological Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD

The Rose Creek Watershed offers tremendous opportunities for teachers to take their students out of the classroom. This is an especially good opportunity for teachers at the Standley and Ray Kroc middle schools, Spreckels elementary school and Mission Bay and University City High schools: all are directly adjacent to natural open space.

We have suggested some links here that will provide opportunities for teachers to introduce their students to the Rose Creek Watershed; many of these resources are designed to meet California Content Standards. The list is by no means exhaustive; we would appreciate it if you would contact us if you know of other good watershed resources for teachers so that we can add your suggestions here.

Aquatic Adventures provides educational programs that connect underserved youth to science, inspire environmental action, and increase exposure to marine habitats. They have information of interest to teachers. Contact Shara Fisler.

The CREEC Network has fabulous resources for educators. Educators can log on to the CREEC Network website to meet their regional CREEC Network Coordinator or find hundreds of environmental education resources to strengthen instruction and motivate learning across the curriculum. Adrienne Marriott is the local CREEC Coordinator and author of the Project SWELL Curricula with SD City Schools.

The San Diego County Water Authority provides FREE educational programs and materials for grades K - 12 to San Diego County educators. Contact Ivan Golikoff at 858-522-6719 or see their informative website.

San Diego County’s Project Clean Water has a technical advisory committee that coordinates activities between non-profit organizations, private institutions, and governmental agencies providing environmental and water quality education. For more information, visit their website.

The San Diego Natural History Museum has programs for teachers, correlated to California Content Standards, in science, history and social studies. Teacher's Resource Guides, created for each exhibition and available online, are also correlated to California Content Standards. They include pre- and post-visit activities, as well as exhibition background and glossary.

The San Diego Science Alliance is a non-profit consortium of leaders from business, K-12 education, higher education and scientific institutions in San Diego County, and is committed to enhancing science literacy in K-12 education.

The State Education and Environment Roundtable interconnects “best practices” in education into an instructional tapestry that improves student achievement by using local natural and community surroundings as a context for learning. SEER is a cooperative endeavor of 16 state departments of education. SEER works to enhance student achievement, improve K-12 instructional practices and help schools achieve their improvement goals by implementing the EIC Model™.

California Alive has a nice website to explore to learn more about California’s biodiversity and natural habitats.

Earth Force engages young people as active citizens who improve the environment and their communities now and in the future by training and supporting educators in programs that enable young people to lead community action projects focused on creating sustainable solutions to local environment issues.

PORTs is a collaborative effort between public schools and California State Parks. PORTS delivers live programming to classrooms from parks throughout the state. Structured to comply with California Content standards, PORTS programs could complement local trips into the Rose Creek Watershed.