Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Tom Kirk (760) 564-4888

March 28, 2002

The Salton Sea Authority Board Thursday approved a contract with the University of Redlands to develop an environmental education curriculum focused on the Salton Sea.

“This program will provide an exciting, informative and innovative educational experience that will allow children to better appreciate the Sea and its relationship to the local environment,” said Authority Board President Roy Wilson, a member of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

The curriculum will be designed for grade three through high school.

“Once a program gets established for students in the Imperial and Coachella valleys, it may be extended to children in lower grade levels and possibly to students who live further from the Sea,” Wilson said.

The curriculum is expected to make extensive use of innovative technologies, such as geographic information systems.

The Redlands proposal is a partnership between faculty in the university’s school of education and the Salton Sea Database Program, which was developed for the Authority and is managed by the University of Redlands Institute.

The proposal calls for a geographic information system-supported environmental curriculum, centered around the Salton Sea that will allow students to explore the complex ecosystem and develop important skills of analysis.

“Students who live in the watershed area of the Salton Sea may have little knowledge or understanding of the rich and complex ecosystem that is literally in their backyards,” said Carol Franklin, who will head the project on behalf of the University.

“This program will not only include a way to address content curriculum acquiring skills and knowledge, but it also will provide them an opportunity to understand the work in agribusiness, land use management and information management technology,” she added.

All of the curriculum will be linked to California K-12 Academic Content Standards as well as needs of individual school districts in the region.

“We are extremely please to get this effort launched,” said Authority Executive Director Tom Kirk. “This has been one of our major priorities our outreach effort—to tap into the wealth of educational opportunity provided by the Salton Sea.”

 

Copyright 2000 Salton Sea Authority - All Rights Reserved
Site Design and Hosting by KG WebWorks