Now in its second year, KIN combines disciplines such as botany, biology, geology, and field research in an eight-month course set mostly in the great outdoors. Organizers of KIN, the happy result of a partnership between Sedgwick Reserve and the UC Santa Barbara Museum of Systematics and Ecology, aim to involve students in an "authentic science experience," and maybe even motivate them to consider higher education.

"It helps the university to be involved with the community," says Michael Williams, Director of Sedgwick Reserve, "[and] we're getting kids excited about going to college."

The fourth, fifth, and sixth grade participants, many of whom study English as a second language, are drawn from eligible elementary schools that feed into what are considered low-performing high schools in three contiguous districts: Guadalupe, Lompoc Unified, and Santa Maria-Bonita. The students number about 230 each year and must apply for admission to the program.

"The lower income kids have little exposure to nature," Michael reveals. "Their families are working, sometimes two jobs, so these kids are not getting out into the country at all."

The yearlong program combines classroom education with five field trips to Sedgwick Reserve, and engages students with hands-on activities in science, math, writing, and technology. Along the way, they explore digital photography, printmaking, sketching, poetry, and learn to create Power Point presentations.

At the students' first meeting, trained docents describe the critical role that native ecosystems play in providing food and shelter for wildlife, and in preserving the health of natural areas for future generations. The students see the damage caused by erosion, the hills scoured by grazing cattle, and learn how they can help.

Docents outline the how-tos of habitat restoration and assign a small plot of land to each team of six students, but before getting their hands dirty the kids test their skills with a computer simulation. "The Plant Restoration Ecology Game," developed by Jennifer Thorsch, Adjunct Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, and one of the prime movers of KIN, mimics the real restoration area, supplying information about factors such as soil moisture, air temperature, and pest activity.

On subsequent visits to Sedgwick Reserve, students clear non-native species from their plots, gather seeds, make cuttings, and learn how to germinate acorns. They plant seedlings, measure plants to determine growth rates, and record data about plant survival and pest problems.

"They emulate the roles of real ecologists," Michael Williams enthuses. "There's this constant awareness of how everything fits together, [how] red tailed hawks eat the squirrels that eat the oak seedlings. We teach them how to sketch the leaves of the oaks they are re-establishing, they measure rain after a storm, do plant anatomy, stain tissues, and learn about the cells inside. They learn about photosynthesis, water uptake, how cells grow...They love every moment of it."

The docents, who come from all walks of life, receive 68 hours of training from archaeologists, graphic artists, computer whizzes, botanists, and geologists who cover all aspects of restoration and field research, as well as the natural history of the Reserve. They share their passions, whether for birding, botany, photography, art, or simply a love of nature, with eager students who come to regard them as mentors and often, as friends.

"Sometimes we'll have a real rowdy group of kids come in," says Williams, "[but] by the eighth session, they're so excited about being here and showing their docents their projects. It's tremendous-as soon as the kids get off the bus, they line up to give the docents a hug."

At the end of the program, students, teachers, and docents gather for a Celebration Day to share their experiences and review research reports based on the restoration work. Each team presents its writings, artwork, graphs, and photographs as part of a valuable learning experience that organizers call "authentic scientific communication."

"Most have never done a graph before," Williams remarks, "but suddenly they've got them perfectly aligned, with all the information. The quality of the artwork always surprises me. That's really exciting to see."

The KIN program is funded through a Faculty Outreach Grant at UCSB and supplemented by contributions from local organizations, as well as gifts in kind from area businesses. Grants cover transportation, software, and printers, while groups like Santa Barbara Foundation and Santa Barbara Rotary supply the program with top quality binoculars, and Venoco and Exxon Mobil contribute dollars and expertise so students can do nature printing on T-shirts.

"[Funding] is tough," admits Williams. "It's a real serious time. The program's really growing and we'd hate to see it falter-but we're doing really well. We have a good donor base, [though] we're always looking for new donors.

"I'm not trained in funding," he laughs ruefully, "I'm a botanist. You learn to wing it."

In 2003, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and Kids Network, the county agency that coordinates services for children, honored Kids in Nature with the Child Friendly Award, an acknowledgement of the fine work done by all the volunteers who make the program such a success.

While Kids in Nature galvanizes its students, it also has a profound impact on the docents and parents as they watch their charges eagerly dive into art, science, and self-discovery. Whether they go on to college, choose careers in science, or simply pass on a love of nature to those around them, the students who complete the Kids in Nature program travel far beyond the curriculum of their elementary schools and learn to treasure the wonders of the great outdoors.

Sedgwick Reserve encompasses some 5,900 acres and is UCSB's largest and most important property in the UC reserve system. The property line slopes down Figueroa Mountain, spanning a range from 2,300 feet to 800 feet, and encompasses distinctive geologic formations of considerable interest-including a major geologic fault system, the Little Pine Fault, and large areas of serpentine. Wildly diverse vegation on Sedgwick includes thousands of oak trees of several varieties, some in dense woodlands. There are sycamores, foothill pines, buckbrush chaparral, coastal sage scrub, open grassland and savannah, riparian forests and agricultural lands. There are also large watersheds on the property, including creeks and vernal pools. One Chumash village has been discovered and is dated at 1500 to 2000 years old. The Reserve is open to the public, by application, under three categories: for study under a university system at a university level course; for research by any faculty, professional scientist, undergraduate, graduate or high school student under teacher supervision; and for general public use, including: any K-12 activity, nonprofit organization or business event or training, workshops or small symposium, community and public affair events, including tours. Volunteers are continually needed. Contact the Reserve Director at 805-686-0848.