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MAY 2020
SANTA ROSA PLATEAU
NATURE EDUCATION FOUNDATION
 The Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve is a relatively undisturbed area of oak woodland, chaparral, and native grassland habitat in Riverside County. The 7,500-acre site provides a corridor for deer and mountain lions. Creeks draining the plateau contain deep holes, which hold water throughout the summer months and provide an important water source for wildlife. The plateau is 25 miles from Diamond Valley Lake, Southern California's largest reservoir which is owned and operated by Metropolitan Water District.

The Santa Rosa Nature Education Foundation provides an array of free resources, teaching tools, and family activities. For resource links, organized by age and grade level, click on the Updates tab of the website. To be added to the NERF network, email Education Coordinator, Jamie Parsley .
ROLLAND HARRIS,
CSUN CLASS OF 2020
Congratulations!

Your hard work and dedication have paid off. The challenges of the future are great. But the opportunities for success are even greater.
Rolland Harris is Metropolitan's Education Unit intern. Next week, he will receive his B.S. in Finance from California State University at Northridge. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, he and his fellow classmates will end their  college careers  with virtual celebrations, forgoing special memories and farewells. Rolland joined Metropolitan last year, providing financial analysis and logistical support to programs, incuding Solar Cup TM program. He also redesigned the Education unit's ArcGIS StoryMap, an online photo and narrative chronology of education workshops and outreach events. We asked Rolland to share some of his quarantine memories.
"In March, I had just finished my midterms and was ready for one last spring break with my friends. Unfortunately, I came down with a cough. To avoid a coronavirus risk, I canceled my trip. During that time, my grandfather was hospitalized. I was unable to visit him, since I might have been contagious. Due to quarantine rules at Metropolitan, I spent my entire spring break working remotely. It was drastically different switching from in-person classes to online learning. I was disappointed because it was time for my major courses. I was most interested in these classes, because they would adequately prepare me for my future career. It was hard to maintain a steady connection to the professor through the internet.

After a few weeks, the quality of online classes improved, when the lectures became more inter-active. While my grandfather was in the hospital, we were not allowed to see him, we could only talk through video chat. A few days before my last exam, he passed away, making it difficult to stay focused on school. My grandfather was an avid supporter of higher education. He was looking forward to my graduation. The combination of mourning and being quarantined was terrible. Now that I'm in my last few weeks of school, I'm striving to finish strong in school and my internship. There has been speculation that my graduation will be held in the Fall of 2020. As a senior, it is inconceivable that as a class we will be unable to cross the stage together; however, the loss of this moment will not sabotage our entire experience. "
"Over its 17 years, Solar Cup has become the largest high school competition of its kind in the world. Rolland brought the perspective of a college student to the planning team, which helped us build a bridge from the past to the future of the program. Because of his insight and dedication, Rolland moved us forward in new and different ways. He has made lasting contributions and we wish him well as he leaves Metropolitan and begins his career."
Julie Kalbacher, Solar Cup TM Program Administrator
H 2 O Workshops on Zoom
Our education team is available to facilitate Zoom webinars or read water-themed books to your students. Each workshop is customized to your lesson plan. For grades, kindergarten through college, the topics range from the water cycle to recycling to water quality or climate change . To get information or schedule a session, email or call (213) 217-6926.
Share your water education activities

Do you have some waterwise students? We'd love to showcase your school or college in our next e-newsletter. We will provide a class set of giveaways, if your campus is selected for the newsletter. Email  the information or post on social media with #thinkh2o and tag @mwdh2o. If you have any questions, contact Benita Lynn Horn .