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.

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.

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.

Q: What would you say your favorite part of the field trip was?

A: I enjoyed the nature walk the most.

Editor’s Note: To find out more about the L.A. River conservation efforts and FoLAR, you can visit https://folar.org/ .