The Mira Loma Arcade Creek Project is an ongoing study of the

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

corridor of an urban watershed in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. It consists of eleven studies which measure the health of Arcade Creek and is run entirely by students of

Mira Loma High School Mira Loma High School is a public high school located in Arden-Arcade, California, United States. It is located south of Interstate 80, and east of Watt Avenue. It is a part of the San Juan Unified School District with a student body of approxi ...

and five faculty advisers. As of 2017, there were 346 students participating in the project. The project was initiated in 1998 as part of the school's IB Group 4 project. In 2004, the project was recognised by Governor Schwarzenegger when it was awarded the ''Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award'', California's most prestigious environmental honour. The project was also awarded a $10,000 environmental excellence award from

SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...

in 2010.

List of studies

Bio Assay Bio Assay tests the health of the creek's water using the indicator species Ceriodaphnia dubia which is highly sensitive to toxins and other changes in the creek's water. Biological Assessment Biological Assessment monitors populations of macroinvertebrates in the creek bed. Large populations of species in the insect orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and

Trichoptera The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the b ...

. indicate good health of the creek. Botany The Botany Study monitors the populations of plant life in the riparian corridor of the creek with a special emphasis on controlling invasive species. Chemistry The Chemistry Study monitors the chemical content of the creek water. Measurements of

dissolved oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It ca ...

, pH, temperature, and various metallic

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

s are taken. This data can then be used to determine if the water is chemically appropriate for most life at the creek. Habitat The Habitat Study measures various physical features of the creek to provide a general description of its health. The group measures water depth, vegetation density, and average tree diameters. Long Mapping The Long Mapping Study maps the general shape and flow of the creek bed including creek bank height and soil build-up or

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

. The Long Mapping group provides a geographical reference for other studies to pinpoint locations at the creek. Outreach The Outreach group presents the tasks, results, and accomplishments of the Arcade Creek Project to the wider community and organizes events to educate schoolchildren, politicians, and

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

s. Restoration The Restoration group removes garbage, toxins, and invasive species from Arcade Creek in hopes of restoring it to a more natural state. Sediment The Sediment Study monitors the composition of the benthic layer of the creek bed. The presence of an excess of rocks,

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

, or

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

indicates that the creek's soil is inappropriate for most life at the creek. Technology The Technology team is responsible for compiling creek data and publicizing the Arcade Creek Project through informational videos and the arcade creek website. Vertebrates The Vertebrate Study monitors the populations of

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

species at the creek. By tracking

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

changes over time, this study aims to determine the ecological health of Arcade Creek.

References

External links

Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arcade Creek Project Organizations based in Sacramento, California Ecological restoration