By Cecília F, Clover F, Danica M, and Pranshi B
At The Watershed Project, our mission is to inspire San Francisco Bay Area communities to understand, appreciate, and protect our local watersheds. One of the ways we connect bay area communities to their local watersheds is through education. Over the past year, the education team at TWP has had the opportunity to work closely with students from TK-12th grade, discussing a range of topics from the water cycle to climate change to green infrastructure. One of the schools we have had the pleasure of partnering with this year is Olinda Elementary’s 4th and 5th graders. We held an essay contest asking the students that we worked with at Olinda what nature meant to them and how they are connected to their watershed. The following are the winning essays from Cecília F, Clover F, Danica M, and Pranshi B.
“What Does Nature Mean to Me?”
By Cecília F.
I love nature because nature has rivers, forests, creeks, oceans and the soils that provide us with food, the air we breathe and the water we irrigate our crops with. I go hiking with my aunt sometimes, I notice a lot of times how many birds I see, Dragon Flies or Spiders. I really admire the colors of the animals. That is how I love nature. They provide us with water and food such as plants to eat/ drink. All of the time I just wish people wouldn’t destroy forests, take river water, creek water, rip plants like grass or flowers.
How I am connected to my Watershed is: All of the land that drains to that particular body of water is how I am connected to my watershed. Once I saw a river and I asked my aunt if we could go down the way the river is going. We went down there and it was a beach. In conclusion, This is one of the best classes I’ve ever taken. I hope to do it again in 5th grade…
“What Does Nature Mean to Me?”
By Clover F.
Nature not only gives me and others peace of mind, a sense of balance, and the wonderment of its beauty, but it sustains all of our lives as well.
When I am stressed, angry, or tired because of my siblings screaming and fighting, I will go outside. Nature is a calm place for me. Nature is a place where I can be myself. Nature makes my life magical.
Nature makes me happy. In nature, I can spend more time with my family, and go camping with my mom. When I’m in nature, I get to see and hear cool animals, and maybe sometimes I get to see or hear an animal I have never seen or heard before when I’m being quiet.
“My Connection With Nature”
By Danica M.
Hello reader. I have a question for you: Do you have a strong relationship with nature? No, stepping outside once in a while doesn’t count. But if you do more than that, there’s other people like you! “Where?” you ask. Montana, I even wrote a poem about it!
Montana. My life, my pride and joy. My only true love. Where I can run free, and just be me. Where the mountains wink at me with a warm smile. Where the stars roam the moonkissed sky. Like drinking hot cocoa on a rainy day. It fills me with pride from my nose to my toes. Fierce like a bear but yet so delicate like a dove. Where the angelic wildlife holds me in a warm embrace. Montana, what a beautiful place.
Now you see how much I like Montana now, don’t you? Let me tell you about my experience there. My grandma was raised in the big sky country. Her parents owned about five thousand acres of land, one ranch, three rivers, two lakes, extensive forest and a partridge in a pear tree. My grandma’s parents had my grandma, my grandma had my dad and my dad had me. Which basically means that I literally have my own property in montana. Crazy! Now my family only has about 800 acres of land but that’s still more than my brain can comprehend! My favorite part of going there every summer is riding in the back of the ranch pick up truck because it is not required to wear seatbelts on your own property. People in Montana have enough land to do that. Have you ever been to montana?
“How Am I Connected to My Watershed?”
By Pranshi B.
Nature means getting fresh air and plants to look at. When you go outside, you can see many different types of plants to look at and you can observe them. One of my favorite plants in my backyard are roses. I like roses because they come in different colors and they smell good. Nature also means green mountains, dense forests, blue oceans and clean air. It always makes me calm and happy to be around nature. In dense forests there are many species of animals. In rainforests you can get peace and quiet. If you’re quiet enough you could hear the animals. Forests reserve water when it rains. I like the blue ocean because it reminds me of calmness and is relaxing.
We are very connected to nature that we can not imagine our lives without it. It supports us with oxygen, breathing fresh air, and drinking fresh water. Nature also keeps us eating fresh to feel a better way of living. We should always try to keep our nature balanced by not using our resources unnecessarily and help maintain a good ecosystem. It is our responsibility to keep nature alive so it can still keep supporting us with fresh air, water to drink, and oxygen. Nature to me also means life because it gives us everything we need to survive and live.
Nature is also very important to animals because it is a habitat for many different kinds of animals, as you can see nature means a lot and is important to us and different plants and animals.
