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The Shrimp Club
The California freshwater shrimp isn't much to look at - it's only about an inch or two long, with a transparent body, bluish tail and a couple of rust colored spots on its flanks - but syncaris pacifica has some mighty friends. Students from San Anselmo's Brookside Elementary School adopted the crustacea last year and set up the Shrimp Club to save it.
"We felt sorry for endangered species and wondered what we could do," says club member Aaron Mihaly. So they contacted the Audubon Society, which suggested they adopt trout, salmon or freshwater shrimp as a project. The students decided on the most obscure of these species. "We wanted to teach people that not only cute and cuddly animals were important to the ecosystem," says Aaron.
The club learned that the shrimp don't swim very well and thus favor slow moving streams with plenty of shade and undercuts along the banks.
The species lives in about a dozen creeks in Northern California, including Marin County's Stemple Creek.
The kids went to visit Stemple and discovered it wasn't in very good shape. The creek runs through several dairy farms where cattle have trampled and eroded its banks and left little in the way of greenery.
Club members planted willows, blackberries and native grasses along the creek and enlisted the help of dairy farmer Paul Martin. Martin's daughter Betsy joined in, and went on to receive an award from Future Farmers of America for her efforts. In a column for the Shrimp Club's newsletter, she noted that although the club's purpose was to save the shrimp and hers was to prevent soil erosion and water pollution, "We have proved that people with different goals can still work together and get results."
The good results made an impression on the kids. "I used to think the world would be a better place if the human race was extinct," says one student. "The Shrimp Club project changed my mind."
The club didn't stop with planting a few blackberries. It went on to hold weekly two-hour meetings, publish a newsletter, write grant proposals, contact Congress, use E-mail, design T-shirts and raise money. "This is more like real life," says Aaron. "You learn about business, politics and farming, and how they work."
Now the club's learning to manage money. The students entered the Pledge and a Promise environmental contest sponsored by Busch Gardens and Sea World and pocketed the $32,500 grand prize.
Current proposals to build a dam and a golf course on Stemple Creek worry the club. "We're not exactly sure about how they're going to affect the shrimp," says Josh Kline but he intends to find out. After investigating, the Club plans to contact officials with their conclusions. The powers that be should listen very carefully.
Contact: Laurette Rogers (415)454-7409
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