USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station
CALIFORNIA – ALBANY-ARCATA-DAVIS-FRESNO-PLACERVILLE-REDDING-RIVERSIDE – HAWAII-HILO
SCIENCE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/
For Immediate Release: Oct. 13, 2010
Contacts:
Sherri Eng, PSW Research Station Public Affairs, sleng@fs.fed.us; (510) 559-6327
Valerie Hipkins, PSW Research Station, vhipkins@fs.fed.us; (530) 622-1609
U.S. Forest Service and El Dorado High School Team Up to Hold
Third Annual Natural Resources Fair
PLACERVILLE, Calif.—El Dorado High School students and U.S. Forest Service employees from the
Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) and Eldorado National Forest will continue to spark an
interest in resource management among more than 600 middle school students expected at the third
annual Natural Connections fair on October 15.
The natural resources fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Institute of Forest Genetics, located at
2480 Carson Road in Placerville. It is not open to the general public.
Sixth- through eighth-grade students from Placerville and Sacramento will visit 30 activity stations that
will teach them about topics, such as biomes, food chains, water, wildlife, fire ecology and safety, insects,
non-native invasive species, recreation, timber management, and genetics.
The activities will be led by about 90 El Dorado High School freshman, sophomore and junior students,
along with Forest Service natural resources professionals from the Eldorado National Forest and Pacific
Southwest Research Station, and partners from American River Conservancy, California State
Department of Water Resources, UC Davis Extension and El Dorado County.
Student-led activities are part of the El Dorado High School Natural Resources Program, which
encourages participants to become self-directed learners in environmental studies. Program students work
in local ecosystems and the community through a curriculum that offers classes from their freshman
through senior years.
El Dorado High School and Forest Service officials hope that this fair will give participants an
appreciation for science and encourage them to participate in natural resources programs when they enter
high school.
For more information about the Natural Connections event, contact the PSW Institute of Forest Genetics
at (530) 622-1225.
The 596,724-acre Eldorado National Forest is located in the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains. Portions of
El Dorado, Placer, Alpine and Amador counties lie within its boundary.
The Institute of Forest Genetics was originally founded in 1925 by James G. Eddy and has been operated
by the PSW since 1935. It serves as the premier location for research in the areas of forestry and biology.
The institute was listed on the National Register of Historic places in 1987.
The PSW is headquartered in Albany, Calif. The station develops and communicates science needed to
sustain forest ecosystems and other benefits to society. It has laboratories and research centers in
California, Hawaii, and the United States affiliated Pacific Islands. For more information, visit
http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/.
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