To help people learn to live in a more sustainable manner, the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District conducts a variety of public education programs.

Community Group Presentations

Resource Educators are available to present the following programs for community groups, staff meetings, high school level students, and public events:

• Help Create a Sustainable Community explores ways to conserve resources in three land use areas: urban, agriculture, and native habitats. A booklet by the same name is given to those who attend a program.
• Keep our Water Clean: Healing Waterways explains human impacts on water quality and wildlife habitat (Sponsored by the Cities and County of Riversides' StormWater/CleanWater Protection Program).
• Home Gardening...Simple and Environmentally Friendly tells about sustainable backyard management including alternatives to pesticides, irrigation scheduling, and composting. (Sponsored by the Cities and County of Riverside's StormWater/CleanWater Protection Program).
• Arroyos: Sanctuaries for Wildlife (a joint project with the Riverside Land Conservancy; developed from a State and Private Forestry Grant).

Please e-mail RCRCD@RCRCD.com or call Erin Snyder at (951) 683-7691 ext 207 to schedule a presentation for your group.

School and Youth Group Programs

Elementary level educational presentations and teaching materials, (see the K-6 Educational Materials Order Form), are provided free of charge to teachers, students, and home schooling families who reside or work within the RCRCD.

High School Level programs annually conducted by the RCRCD include a Conservation Speak-off contest, and the California Envirothon.

Those who reside outside of the RCRCD service area may purchase RCRCD created materials. Please cal and request the Materials Available from the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District order form.

Mini-grants for up to $250 are available to all levels of school and youth groups to help fund outdoor conservation projects such as tree plantings, re-vegetation projects, and gardens.

A resource library is open usually between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday. District residents and teachers are invited to borrow books, audiovisuals, curriculum, posters, and more. Please call before your visit to verify that someone will be in the office: (951) 683-7691 ext 202, 207or 208.

ELEMENTARY LEVEL EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS
"Only Rain Down the Storm Drain" for K-6

Follow Fancy Fin the Fish on an aquatic journey through a polluted waterway where the students do the polluting! Then learn how to help keep Fancy Fin's aquatic habitat clean and healthy. The program includes student participation, audiovisuals, and materials.

Class programs about keeping storm water clean are for grades kindergarten through six. Please contact a Resource Educator at (951) 683-7691 ext. 208 to schedule a presentation.

Envirothon: Grades 9-12

The California Envirothon is a hands-on, team competition designed to help high school students learn about natural resource management. Students spend class time studying five areas: aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and a current environmental issue. During the school year, teams prepare for the competition, which takes place each spring. Learning objectives and materials for students and teachers are provided by Resource Conservation Districts.

The Envirothon stimulates students' interests in natural resource stewardship. Students become aware of the many environmental problems that exist today. Working as a team, they use problem-solving skills to arrive at solutions to specific environmental problems.

At the outdoor competition, each team member answers written questions pertaining to the site, in the fields of: Aquatics, Forestry, Soils and Wildlife.

The final component of the competition is an oral presentation that the team members develop and present together concerning a current environmental issue.

Resource Conservation Districts, in conjunction with cooperating agencies, organizations, educators, and interest groups, conduct the California Envirothon. The winning team represents California at the CANON Envirothon held in the late summer somewhere in the US. If you would like to form an Envirothon team at your high school or for more information, please contact Erin Snyder at RCRCD@RCRCD.com or (951) 683-7691 ext. 207.

FOR GRADES K-6
Each September, natural resource educational materials are offered to elementary level teachers, youth groups, and home learners of the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District free of charge. Please complete the K-6 Educational Materials Order Form to request booklets, posters, and programs. Sorry, there is a fee for non-residents of the District's service area. For an order form or questions, please contact Erin Snyder at (951) 683-7691 ext 207 or at RCRCD@RCRCD.com. Please leave a message that includes your name, address and phone number.

FOR GRADES 7-12
Each year the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District (RCRCD) provides free materials to teachers in an effort to encourage the study of natural resources and their conservation. The Soil Biology Primer and other materials are provided free of charge to interested teachers of middle and senior high school

The Soil Biology Primer is an introduction to the living component of soil. The book explains how soil contributes to agricultural productivity and to air and water quality. The Primer describes the soil food web and how it relates to soil health, with chapters about bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, earthworms, and more. The 48-page, full color book includes nearly 30 photo enlargements of microscopic soil creatures. The book was developed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and published by the Soil and Water Conservation Society of America.

A copy of the Soil Biology Primer was donated to each school library.

To order free materials, please contact Erin Snyder at (951) 683-7691 ext 207 or at RCRCD@RCRCD.com.

Those teachers who work or reside outside of the RCRCD boundaries may purchase RCRCD created materials. Please contact Erin Snyder at (951) 683-7691 ext 207.

RESOURCE LIBRARY
Teachers and residents of the Riverside-Corona RCD service area are welcome to borrow materials from the resource library, which is housed at the RCRCD office (Building A) at the Resource Conservation Center, 4500 Glenwood Drive, Riverside, CA 92501. A card catalogue system allows one to search by subject, author, or authoring entity (agency, organization, publisher, etc.)

Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM or by appointment (951) 683-7691 ext 207.
The types of materials include:

SOIL AND IT'S CONSERVATION
We all need it for survival, but we treat it like dirt! Learn the importance of the top layer of the earth's surface. One learning program, which can be conducted at home or as a class, is the Soil Saver Club. It is an elementary level program that introduces students to soil and its conservation. To "join the club" children complete an 8-page activity booklet with hands-on investigations. Students also complete an outdoor conservation project or do further reading. Projects might include:

• planting or caring for trees on school grounds,
• planning, planting, and maintaining a garden,
• developing a compost pile or comparing composting methods,
• planting and watering an eroding area.

Soil Savers are awarded certificates, wallet cards, and more. Their names are printed in the District newsletter Resources Update.

SCHOOL GARDENS

Need ideas for starting a school garden? First determine the purpose of your garden. Do you hope to grow food, attract butterflies, go native, or simply beautify? Planning involves measuring the space, drawing it to scale, researching plants, soliciting funds, installing irrigation. Don't forget about scheduling maintenance, weeding, and watering. What will you do with those garden wastes? Compost or add to the landfill problem? What are different composting methods? For information about composting contact the Riverside County Master Composters. The website for Riverside County's Waste Management Department and the Master Composters is www.rivcowm.org,or call 1-800-366-SAVE or (909) 955-1370 and ask for the Recycling Department. Also visit www.mastercomposter.com.

For additional help, order the UC Master Gardener free School Garden Tool Box and request that a Master Gardener visit your school by contacting Erin Snyder at (951) 683-7691 ext 207. Mini-grants for up to $250 are available from the RCRCD to school and youth groups of all ages to help fund outdoor conservation projects such as gardens, tree plantings, and re-vegetation projects. If you would like to plant native plants in your school garden, consult the California Native Plant Societies' book Southern California Native Plants for School Gardens. It can be purchased from the CNPS website at www.cnps.org.