L.A. River Calls to 7th Graders

Ms. Newell’s classes learn about water conservation, our local ecosystem, and how to protect it during a trip to the Los Angeles River.

Aiden De Marcos-Hernandez and Allison Ramirez Mendez|May 15, 2023

D. Newell

Newell’s students take a break from their nature walk near the L.A. River.

We are all happy that field trips are returning after the pandemic. Science teacher, Ms. Newell, planned a field trip for her students that was full of learning, fun, and awareness of the environment. We found out more about what happened on the field trip.

Question: A lot of students were absent from classes on May 5th. Where did you go?

Answer: We went on a field trip to the L.A. River.

Q: Who went on the field trip?

A: Ms. Newell and all of my 7th grade science classes.

Students work on science projects during the field trip. (D. Newell)

Q: Why did you choose the L.A. River?

A: I chose the L.A. River because it was offered to me and because I’ve taken kids on this trip before. FoLAR (Friends of the L.A. River) provided the trip.

Q: What was the purpose of this field trip?

A: The purpose of this trip was to understand that we do not have enough water in L.A.. There is a shortage of water and we need to learn how to bring water back into the sea because we channelized our river. We built a lot of concrete for that river and now the water doesn’t go into the ground so we’re deprived of water. We’re now into a 100-year old water fight with other states that don’t want to give us their water anymore. So, we need to figure out a better way to manage our water. We are going to have to pay a lot of money for water. We won’t survive if we don’t fix it.

Seventh grade students spent May 5th out of the classroom learning about water conservation. (D. Newell)

Q: What did you do on the field trip?

A: The students learned how to make a water filter, learned how to find out what an owl ate out of owl pellets, and went on a nature walk looking for birds and nature.