NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 4, 2015
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jennifer Allen, CCWD: (925) 688-8041
Thousands of Contra Costa Students
Participate in Educational Delta Voyages
CONCORD – Nearly 4,500 Central and Eastern Contra Costa County students are studying the ecosystem of the Delta this winter aboard the Research Vessel (RV) Robert G. Brownlee as participants in a program made possible by the Contra Costa Water District, Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, Delta Diablo, Mt. View Sanitary District, Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation, and Marine Science Institute.
As part of the annual field-trip program for fifth-grade classes, the Delta voyages are departing twice a day throughout January and February from the Antioch Marina. During the three-and-a-half hour voyages, students use scientific and shipboard tools to examine mud samples and plankton, trawl for fish, conduct salinity studies, and observe the wetland ecology. The program offers students the chance to experience the environment of the Delta while learning how the estuary relates to their daily lives. For many students, it is their first experience on a boat.
The program is about 40 years old, and many area residents remember it being conducted aboard a refurbished landing craft called The Crago in the 1980s and 90s. In 2003, the program was transitioned to the RV Brownlee, a modern, fully staffed 90-foot research vessel that is owned and operated by Marine Science Institute in Redwood City.
# # #