The Blue Oak Ranch Preserve north of Springville is the site for a number of future projects, including a project to study the habits of the western pond turtle. Last summer (August 2022) a team Read more…
Gateways are systems that wirelessly collect information from sensors and upload that data to the Internet for easy access. Gateways are usually installed at farms and have a wireless range of about 1 to 3 Read more…
The western pond turtle is found along the West Coast ranging from Baja Mexico to Canada. These turtles are found at the Blue Oak Ranch Preserve located north of Springville, California and managed by the Read more…
We use different types of sensors in the farm projects. Some sensors are large and some are quite small. One particular soil sensor has a diameter of about 1 inch and we were installing it Read more…
A new requirement for land owners in California is reporting the water levels of ponds on their land. Measuring and recording pond levels on a monthly basis requires extra time, effort and fuel. Youth from Read more…
A team of middle school students from the town of Poplar visited a grower in Strathmore to discuss the idea of installing soil moisture sensors in the pistachios. After a conversation with the grower a Read more…
To forecast the weather NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) gathers and analyzes data from local weather stations to understand what’s happening today. There are places where NOAA does not have access to local weather Read more…
Each day growers make many decisions in order to grow the food that we eat. These decisions include deciding when to irrigate and for how long. Soil moisture sensors, buried next to a plant’s roots, Read more…
Watsonville High students expressed an interest in going back to their elementary schools to teach art to children. The school supported their idea.
After the pottery wheel project the principal of the middle school in Gonzales asked if we could extend the program to engage 2 STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) focused classes, about 60 youth in total. Read more…
An 8th grade student at Chualar School had mentioned the idea of building a pottery wheel. The idea was to have access to more art activities. The idea caught the imagination of a few youth Read more…
Across the street from Cesar Chavez Middle School is a long fence. Youth from the middle and high schools felt it would be nice to add some color to the fence as a service project.
Upon entering the town of Gonzales you drive by fields and then a large fence. Some youth and young adults decided to paint a large, colorful welcome mural.
In the town of Chualar, local youth work together with youth from the nearby town of Gonzales to paint murals over graffiti to add color and beauty to the neighborhood.
In the town of Gilroy there’s a small neighborhood of trailer homes near Luchessa. On one side are railroad trackers and on the other a wide street with fast traffic, leaving local kids with few Read more…
High school students from Watsonville got together on a Saturday to prepare and serve meals to homeless persons. They were accompanied by a teacher from Pajaro Valley High School and a couple of adult volunteers.
The Junior Youth Empowerment Program in Gilroy placed an emphasis on equipping young people with capabilities that enable them to improve their communities. In this weekend service project, children and youth from the El Cerrito Read more…