Mountain residents connected to the coast provide a trip to students
By Rachel Goings
Living hours away from the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean doesn’t stop Plumas County from getting involved in ocean ecology and conservation efforts. Fifteen students from Plumas Charter School traveled to Fort Bragg in April for a scientific field trip to study whales and ocean ecology thanks to adults with ties to Plumas County.
Naked Whale Research of Mendocino County is a killer whale research organization founded in 2010 by Jodi Smith, who is originally from Indian Valley. She invited the students to participate in a four-day, three-night trip funded by a grant obtained by the organization. Portola resident Bill Powers is a board member of Naked Whale Research and helped facilitate the trip with his daughter Becky Powers who is the school counselor at PCS.
Activities for the students and chaperones included a whale-watching and research boat tour, a bluff hike and a nature-center tour. The young scientists also met with representatives from the Noyo Center for Marine Science who spoke to them about the importance of maintaining and caring for coastal waters and the animals that inhabit them.
PCS offers many field-trip opportunities that focus on outdoor exploration throughout the school year and operate learning centers in Quincy, Taylorsville and Chester. For more information, please visit www.plumascharterschool.org
Fifteen students ranging from sixth to 12th-grade pose for the first photo of the trip before they leave. Photo by Karisa Joseph
Peers have a whale of a time assembling bones. Photo by Karisa Joseph
Students and chaperones enjoy a whale-watching and research boat tour. Jodi Smith (far left) founder of Naked Whale Research is originally from Indian Valley and invited the PCS students from her hometown to participate. Photo by Karisa Joseph
Visiting the Noyo Center for Marine Science. Photo by Karisa Joseph
Sara from the Noyo Center gives the students a lesson in ocean ecology. Photo by Karisa Joseph
