Outdoor corps have a field day

Students in the Orange County Conservation Corps were able to get up close and personal with sharks, stingrays, sea stars and other marine life Friday as part of Ocean Day, a fledgling program started in conjunction with the Bolsa Chica Conservancy and the Southern California Marine Institute.

The Conservation Corps has put a lot of labor into the Bolsa Chica restoration, and the conservancy showed its support by bringing a bit of the ocean to the corps facility in Anaheim.

“There’s a partnership between the conservancy and Orange County Conservation Corps,” said conservancy education director Laura Bandy. “We provide them with [education in] biology and marine biology, and they provide us with labor.”

The day was spearheaded by Bandy and Lou Murray, a Huntington Beach Independent columnist and conservancy volunteer who works extensively with the corps.

The work the corps does at Bolsa Chica comes at low or no cost to the conservancy.

“They need the experience and to learn about the biology in the area,” Bandy said of the corps members. “And God knows we need the work.”

Bandy, who also works part-time at the Marine Institute, approached the institute about bringing a 300-gallon “touch tank,” as well as other activities, to the Anaheim facilities.

“The goal of Ocean Day was to introduce them in a way, other than lecture and some dead stuff ? shells or bones ? and bring the living marine ecosystem inland to Anaheim,” Bandy said.

Corps teacher Mario Galindo said the best part was getting the students out of their classrooms.

“For the students and me, it was the change of pace,” Galindo said. “We deal with books and computers, and pencils and pens. It was nice being able to get up and walk around and learn. Most of the time we’re in the seat regurgitating information ? I spit something out, and they spit it back.”

The touch tank had about 10 to 15 different animals the students could pick up and touch, and another station had marine bird and mammal specimens. The two other stations taught more about the intricacies of ocean life, including red tide and microscopic organisms.

“I definitely learned the most in the microbiology part,” said student Jacob Kolar, 18. “The most interesting was the touch tank.”

The Conservation Corps education program targets mainly high school dropouts who need a job and a high school diploma, lead teacher Jarom Luedtke said.

Partnered with the Sacramento-based John Muir Charter School, the corps is able to provide all subjects needed to pass the high school exit exam, and more. The students earn credits for physical education and elective courses through the work they do in the field.

“They probably come here with not much interest at all, but when they come here and get a little bit educated ? they may leave here with much more increased knowledge and a greater appreciation for the environment,” Luedtke said.

Bandy said they’d like to have events like this for the corps twice a week, and this inaugural event will help them work out any kinks in the program.

“If the teachers and kids are ecstatic and happy and I see that sense of wonder ? that means it was a success,” Bandy said. “Everyone came away with a wonderful, positive experience. It was a really cool event.”hbi.01-corps-1-BPhotoInfo2S1RG13M20060601j03erlncMARK DUSTIN / INDEPENDENT(LA)Brian Tufts, left, an aquariast, holds a starfish as Jose Uriarte touches it during the Marine Biology expo at the Orange County Conservation Corps office in Fullerton.