Children Flock to Lake Berryessa for Fun and Education

Written by: Sarah McBride

A park ranger shows students a poster on the water cycle. This fall, Bureau of Reclamation park rangers at Lake Berryessa welcomed over 180 students, teachers, and chaperones to education programs at Acorn Beach within Oak Shores Day Use Area. Acorn Beach is an ideal location for children and families, as the swimming area is closed to personal watercraft and boats. The amenities available at Acorn Beach include the free lifejacket loaner program, plenty of picnic tables, grills and restrooms nearby.

Nelda Munday Elementary School fifth-graders braved the tail end of a very warm summer Sept. 26-27, 2016, while St. Helena’s fourth-graders were accompanied by far more moderate temperatures and even some rain showers! Through it all, students learned about a variety of topics including the history of Lake Berryessa, the water cycle, water quality, local habitats and food webs, and the diversity of oak woodlands.

One activity students complete during their visit is a study of the water quality at Lake Berryessa. Students on the education field trips form a hypothesis regarding Lake Berryessa's water quality and collect aquatic invertebrates by the waterline to test it. It was good news for Lake Berryessa and our students, as the water quality turned out to be very good. Students found plenty of little critters, although not all were aquatic invertebrates, to identify including water boatmen, leaches, grass spiders and piles of clam shells.

To find out more about Lake Berryessa, recreation and educational opportunities visit our website at: https://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/berryessa/index.html.

Click on dot to advance photos.

Published on December 12, 2016