Mrs. Manning's Fourth Grade

Bella Vista School

Bald Eagle Project

The Bella Vista School fourth grade Bald Eagle Project began as a fourth grade place-based service-learning project in 1994 in a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service. Initially the project was sponsored by the Ca. Dept. of Education, the Ca. Dept. of Fish and Game, and the National Audubon Society. Local schools  selected an endangered species in their area, partnered with a local agency, and then planned their project. The bald eagle was selected because of its proximity to Bella Vista School. There are over 25 nesting pairs of bald eagles at nearby Shasta Lake. Each year the students learn about the bald eagle and its role in the food web in the Shasta Lake ecosystem. During the fall, the students work under the guidance of U.S. Forest Service biologists, doing habitat restoration work at Shasta Lake. They spread seed, fertilizer, and straw mulch. When the winter rains fill the lake, the grass will eventually become cover for small fish, who will then be eaten by larger fish, who will then be eaten by the bald eagles. They also pick up litter that has been left behind by boaters and fishermen. The habitat restoration workday gives the students a first hand experience in learning about food webs which is their fourth grade life science California state science standard.. Each year the students attend the Klamath Falls, Oregon "Winter Wings Festival" held in February. In May they go out on Shasta Lake, courtesy of Mike Han and Jones Valley Marina, to see nesting eagles and their eaglets. Over the past fourteen years, the project has received many awards including "Best in the State" in 1995. A special partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, under the direction of fisheries biologist Joe Zustak, has helped to make this project such a success. For the past two years the project has received grants from the U.S. Forest Service and a fourth grade parent which made it possible to send each fourth grader and one family member, to the "Winter Wings Festival" in Klamath Falls, Oregon. For a link to the site of The Winter Wings Festival click on the eagle. We love our Forest Service friends! We hope that the Bella Vista School Bald Eagle Project continues to be an integral part of the fourth grade curriculum at Bella Vista School for many years to come.