C r o s s C u r r e n t s

EarthTeam Teens in Action
EarthTeam, a Bay Area environmental
network for middle and high school students
and teachers, has been restoring native
habitat in Contra Costa County since 2002
through its habitat restoration program for
teens. EarthTeam’s Restoration Initiative
(ETRI) is designed to involve middle and
high school students in San Francisco Bay
Area habitat restoration projects. By
partnering with other organizations, businesses,
and agencies, EarthTeam trains
student volunteers to become environmental
stewards through local restoration workdays
(held on Saturdays during the school year, or
mid-week field trips as requested by teachers),
class presentations on habitat restoration
and other environmental topics, and an
internship program.
In the Kirker Creek Watershed, ETRI
has partnered with Dow Chemical’s volunteer
restoration team since 2002 to organize
11 restoration workdays at the Dow Wetland
Preserve in Antioch. Over 400 students
contributed over 1,100 hours of volunteer
work. Activities range from removal of
invasive water hyacinth in the wetlands to
weeding and mulching around native plants
in upland areas. At our most recent restoration
day in November, nearly 50 students
helped plant native grasses, remove nonnative
vegetation, and place mulch near the
freshwater beaver pond. Students and other

volunteers can participate in ongoing
restoration activities at the wetlands on
Fridays during the school year.
In 2005, ETRI also began working with
students on restoration projects in the
Alhambra Creek Watershed. Restoration
efforts in 2005 included Mt. Diablo High
School students doing shoreline cleanup
along Alhambra Creek at the Martinez
Regional Shoreline (February) and a planting
project with Friends of Alhambra Creek and
Marianne Griffin’s leadership class at
Alhambra High School (AHS) in May. AHS
students planted California buckeyes on the
hillside adjacent to the school’s track as part
of an ongoing effort to revegetate slopes
burned in a fire last year. In October, stu-
dents from three area high schools removed
mustard and thistle, planted sneezeweed, and
replaced irrigation line at Strentzel Meadow
in Martinez.
We thank the teachers and teens who
have worked with us to help improve the
Kirker Creek and Alhambra Creek Watersheds,
our partners for their sustained work
in these watersheds, and the Contra Costa
Watershed Program for funding our work. If
you want to learn more about our program,
or get involved, contact Chicory Bechtel at
EarthTeam, 510-704-4030 or
chicoryb@earthteam.net.

- Chicory Bechtel