Students investigate how pollution moves through the TJ watershed and how it affects habitats, biodiversity, and local communities, using field observations, mapping, and water-focused science practices. They work with Reserve staff, SDSU interns, and community partners to analyze real local data, identify impacted species and places, and develop evidence-based messages for public audiences. Through creating a PSA, documentary, or news report and presenting a before-and-after portfolio, students learn to design, evaluate, and refine solutions that reduce human impact on the watershed. Across six weeks, the experience builds scientific understanding, communication, collaboration, and reflection rooted in their local environment.

Students will investigate how water moves through the TJ watershed, how runoff carries pollutants from streets and storm drains into habitats, and how those impacts affect local plants, animals, and biodiversity. They will plan and conduct field-based observations, analyze local pollution data with community partners, and use maps, models, and evidence to explain watershed processes and human impacts. Students will design, evaluate, and refine realistic solutions and clear calls to action, then communicate their ideas through a PSA, documentary, or news report. They will also strengthen collaboration, critique, and self-reflection through visual journals, portfolio updates, and feedback cycles leading to the Watershed Watch Gallery Walk.

Students will create field journals with sketches, habitat notes, pollution observations, and watershed maps during the launch walk and throughout the six weeks, then organize these into a before-and-after portfolio with a short reflection on how their thinking changed. Working in teams, they will also produce a PSA, short documentary, or news report that explains how pollution moves through the TJ watershed, shows affected species and habitats, and proposes realistic solutions or calls to action. Midway through the project, teams will share a rough-cut script or storyboard for critique from classmates and Reserve staff, then revise for accuracy, clarity, and impact. Final products will be shared at the Watershed Watch Gallery Walk for families, peers, and community partners.

Begin with a Watershed Wake-Up Walk led by Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve staff, where students use field journals to sketch habitats, note pollution clues, and record questions about how runoff affects plants and animals. Back in class, mixed-age teams sort their observations onto a large watershed map and trace how trash, chemicals, and storm drain runoff move through the TJ watershed. SDSU interns and Boz Institute partners can share local photos or data to spark discussion about impacted species and possible solutions. Close with a short media hook by showing strong PSA, documentary, and news report examples, then introduce the driving question students will investigate over the six weeks.

Host a Watershed Watch Gallery Walk where students share their PSA, documentary, or news report alongside before-and-after portfolios, watershed maps, pollution observations, and visual reflection journals. Invite families, classmates, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve staff, SDSU student interns, and Boz Institute partners to view the work, ask questions, and discuss how student solutions could reduce pollution and protect habitats. Set up stations with student media screenings and short live presentations so learners can explain their evidence, describe how their thinking changed over six weeks, and respond to feedback from the community.