Point Blue's STRAW program - Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed
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November 2018
STRAW stands for - Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed - a collaborative program powered by a "respectful, dynamic, and vibrant partnership with educators, students, scientists, ranchers, public agencies and other community members."
Founded in 1992 by Laurette Rogers and later adopted by Point Blue Conservation Science, the program brings science to life for more than 3,000 K-12 students every year through meaningful watershed restoration projects. Activities take place both in the classroom and at the restoration site drawing connections between learning and real - world issues and solutions.
STRAW empowers communities to heal their damaged landscapes, revitalize wildlife habitats, generate cleaner water, sequester greenhouse gases, empower children, and inspire the next generation of conservation leaders. The program reaches over 3500 students along with their families, teachers and other community members annually. STRAW is committed to including a diverse mix of communities; approximately 1/4 of the schools reached are underserved. In 2018, the STRAW program received a $2.7 M grant from SFBRA Measure AA funds for empowering students to help restore wetland transition zone habitat in the cities of Petaluma, San Rafael, and at the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
This (and every) year, they will plan and restore over 50 stream and wetland habitats on streams, wetland edges, and Sierra meadows between October and the middle of May! “These kids are rebuilding the world, one stream at a time”
You can learn more about the program on Point Blue’s website or by reading this fact sheet. And we highly recommend watching their short video about the program here.
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