Western Tanager
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Los Angeles Audubon Society | laaudubon.org Western Tanager Burrowing Owl at Esperanza Elementary | Photo by Brad Rumble CONTENTS On The Cover Burrowing Owl at Esperanza Elementary 3 A New Schoolyard Habitat at Esperanza This image was taken on Elementary School December 9, 2016 when the bird was perched in a Los Angeles Audubon Society jacaranda tree adjacent to the student lunch P.O. Box 411301 7 Lost Migrants in Los Angeles County Los Angeles, CA 90041-8301 pavilion. I took the shot with a Canon EOS Rebel t2i www.losangelesaudubon.org 10 Birds of the Season camera using a 55mm‐250mm lens. (323) 876-0202 [email protected] 14 Los Angeles Audubon’s Ballona Wetlands Docent Receives Disney Conservation Hero Award ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER: Board Officers & Directors President Margot Griswold [email protected] Vice President David De Lange [email protected] 15 Hummingbird Rescue: A True Story My interest in native birds developed during my Treasurer Robert Jeffers [email protected] Past President Travis Longcore [email protected] first decade working at a school near downtown Los Directors at Large Nicole Lannoy Lawson 17 Ninety years of change in the bird Angeles. It was the absence of biodiversity due to Brad Rumble [email protected] community of the UCLA campus Committees poor urban planning which really got me interested Conservation Travis Longcore [email protected] in the subject. I started photographing birds to Education Margot Griswold [email protected] 19 Interpreting Nature: The Green Gift Membership Brad Rumble [email protected] memorialize what I was seeing out in the field. Workshop — creativity, discovery, and duct Programs & Activities Field Trips Nick Freeman [email protected] tape. As an elementary school principal, I see how Bird Walks Eleanor Osgood [email protected] Monthly Programs Nicole Lannoy Lawson [email protected] students are fascinated with the local natural history. Rare Bird Alert Jon Fisher [email protected] 22 Monthly Programs Schreiber Grant Program Ryan Harrigan [email protected] Given the opportunity, they truly become stewards Staff of their campus and neighborhood. Director of Communications and Development Carol [email protected] 23 Bird Walks Director of Outdoor Education Cindy Hardin [email protected] Director of Environmental Education Stacey Vigallon [email protected] Brad Rumble Volunteer Coordinator Cindy Hardin [email protected] 24 Field Trips Member Services & Website Liason Susan Castor [email protected] The birds of Los Angeles need you. The Western Tanager is the chapter newsletter of the Los Angeles Audubon Society, published online bi-monthly in PDF format, Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec, Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/June, July/Aug. Articles, letters drawings and photographs concerning conservation, birding, chapter activities, and articles of interest to the membership are welcome for submission. Please send copy as Microsoft Become a member of the Los Angeles Audubon Society to directly help the birds of our region. Word, RTF documents, or plain text files to [email protected]. Photos should be high resolution (300ppi) .jpg or .tif files. Submissions are due the 1st of the month to be included in Your membership supports the organization's efforts in the following areas: .the All following rights reserved. issue All photographs are used by permission and are copyrighted material of the credited photographers. • RECREATION |• EDUCATION | • CONSERVATION | • RESTORATION Editor Linda Oberholtzer, [email protected] ,Design Susan &Castor, Layout [email protected] Individual membership only $25 per year. Join today at: laaudubon.org ,Scientific Kimball Garrett, Advisor [email protected] © 201Los Angeles Audubon Society 2 Western Tanager January/February 2017 A New Schoolyard Habitat at Esperanza Elementary School Margot Griswold, President Los Angeles Audubon In 2009, LAAS and Leo Politi Ele‐ mentary School, another Title I school near downtown Los Angeles, collabo‐ rated with US Fish and Wildlife Service to install a native habitat on 6,000 square feet of under‐utilized school‐ yard. This collaboration was first schoolyard habitat project in down‐ town Los Angeles to receive a grant. LAAS, worked successfully with stu‐ dents, parents, and teachers to replace an under‐utilized area of schoolyard at Leo Politi Elementary with an outdoor learning area now filled with native plants, insects, and birds. We transformed the schoolyard habitat concept at Leo Politi by having our high school Restoration Leaders from the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program create and teach curricula using the Politi habitat. This innova‐ tion, using intergenerational learning, is an important part of our success in fostering stewardship with both age groups and within the urban core of Los Angeles. We are growing environ‐ mental stewards who understand the importance of urban ecology. We call our intergenerational learning the ʻSchool‐shedʼ, and it links all of our en‐ Birders surveying new habitat. | Photo by Brad Rumble vironmental education programs. Our ‘School‐shed’ is located within the Bal‐ OS ANGELES AUDUBON SOCIETY (LAAS ) HAS EMBARKED ON OUR SECOND SCHOOLYARD HABITAT, A COLLABORATION AT Esperanza Elementary School. This new Schoolyard Habitat is based on our success at Leo Politi lona Creek Watershed of Los Angeles. L Elementary School. We used our experience to build an ecologically appropriate outdoor learning hub at (See schools within Ballona Creek Watershed Esperanza Elementary, a Title 1 school, located along Wilshire Blvd near MacArthur Park. There are 773 map next page) students attending grades K‐Fifth. 3 Western Tanager January/February 2017 4 Western Tanager January/February 2017 While the Politi habitat is self‐sufficient now, runoff from the adjacent hardscape in a series of LAAS continues to work with our Restoration Lead‐ native plant bioswales. ers, sponsoring an annual workday where our stu‐ dents work with parents and Politi students to trim The Esperanza habitat will be evaluated and and spruce up the native plants. The schoolyard measured over time factoring plant & habitat devel‐ habitat continues to be essential in engaging stu‐ opment, growth, species count, etc. The schoolyard dents, teachers, and community in hands‐on nature habitat program is directly tied to the Baldwin Hills activities in a neighborhood largely devoid of parks. Greenhouse Restoration Leaders program, so curric‐ LAAS staff also engage students each fall and spring ula development, student mentoring, and data in an after‐school science illustration program, cul‐ tracking development of the habitat will be ongoing. minating in a Science+Art evening program that en‐ Under the Restoration Leadersʼ mentorship, Esper‐ gages the whole school with performances, student anza students will create a record of work to be exhibits, and science games. shared year to year. It is important to note that one of our current Restoration Leaders became inter‐ Similarly, the overall goal of Esperanza School‐ ested in ecology as a 3rd grader at Leo Politi Ele‐ yard Habitat project is to create a natural habitat mentary. As a high school student, he applied to the within an urban school‐yard that will serve as an Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program based on his ear‐ outdoor classroom, filled with native plants, insects, lier experiences. He is being mentored by former pollinators, lizards and birds, that teachers and stu‐ Restoration Leaders who are now LAAS staff, having Esperanza planting day, Nov. 12, 2016 | Photo by Carol Babeli dents will observe and study to enhance their class‐ returned to Los Angeles after college. We are very room/textbook experience. fortunate to have home‐grown urban ecologists working in our education and conservation pro‐ In 2015, LAAS worked with Esperanza principal grams. Brad Rumble and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to identify a 5,2227 square foot area of the LAAS will track program success by document‐ schoolyard in the southwest corner that was under‐ ing plant establishment and resiliency, based on used. LAUSD has contributed to the schoolyard photo documentation of the site and annual main‐ habitat project with the removal of asphalt from the tenance hours. This metric is considered successful site, as well as safety soil testing. While the soil was when maintenance is only required once per year being testing, LAAS undertook to seed the site with with a parents/students workday. Our first school‐ native erosion control species in December, 2015 in yard habitat reached this metric within year 5. advance of the potential el Niño rains. Pathways Based on native habitat restoration timelines, five were installed in October 2016 and planting and years is the earliest that most sites can be consid‐ seeding was accomplished in early November 2016. ered established and resilient. Our Restoration Leaders began developing cur‐ We will also track the number of curricula de‐ ricula this past summer and engaged with Esperanza veloped by Restoration Leaders based on state sci‐ students from the beginning of the process. ence education standards, Common Core, and Next Restoration Leaders are focusing the currcula on Generation Science Standards to teach elementary urban water management and water conservation school students in the habitat. We have established based on the location and slight slope of the habitat that between 2 – 4 new curricula modules can be Esperanza planting