Bridging Science and Community: Engaging Youth in Delta Conservation through the Spinning Salmon Program

Project Number
R/SF-122
Project Date Range
-
Funding Agency
Delta Stewardship Council, Delta Science Program
Focus Area(s)
Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies

 

PROJECT HIGHLIGHT

This project will evaluate and enhance an existing youth-focused science initiative, the Spinning Salmon Program. The program, which engages K-12 students in studying a vitamin deficiency affecting Central Valley Chinook salmon, will be expanded to meet the needs of students in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, including but not limited to Spanish-language resources, helping to create a new pipeline of future scientists.

 

PROJECT SUMMARY

Chinook salmon in California's Central Valley face a critical health challenge: low levels of thiamine, likely caused by changes in their diet. To understand this issue, the Spinning Salmon Program, launched in 2020, engages local K-12 students as researchers who monitor salmon in their classroom before returning them to their natural environment. The students' observations, including behaviors and mortality rates, become part of the ongoing scientific research into salmon health in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

This project is funded by the Delta Stewardship Council Delta Science Program under Agreement No. DSC23011 and is administered by California Sea Grant.

Principal Investigators
Rebecca VanArnam
University of California, Davis (UCD)

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