Becca VanArnam
Ph.D. Student - Science and Agricultural Education
Field Trip to Rush Ranch
Exploring Estuaries, Science, and Language
Authors: Peggy Harte, Becca VanArnam, Kimberly Renae Evans, Carly Davis
The Spinning Salmon Program: Science in the Classroom
A new article by Becca Van Arnam, published by the Delta Stewardship Council
The Spinning Salmon Program: Science in the Classroom
A new article by Becca Van Arnam, published by the Delta Stewardship Council
Every fall, thousands of tiny salmon eggs arrive in high school classrooms across Northern California. Students huddle around their tanks, watching closely as the fish hatch, swim, and grow. But this isn’t just about raising fish, it’s about contributing to real science.
Waste Audit Brings Science to Life
UC Davis Partnership Shows Students How Everyday Choices Make a Big Difference
At Marguerite Montgomery Elementary
School, the lunchroom has become an unexpected site for science
learning. A waste audit and lesson series led by parent
volunteers and UC Davis School of Education graduate students is
helping children examine how their daily food and disposal
choices affect the environment. By pairing hands-on investigation
with culturally responsive teaching, the program teaches students
how to sort waste and reduce food loss, encouraging them to
identify as environmental stewards who can bring these lessons
home to their families and communities.
Statewide Study Taps 3,000 Students to Research Thiamine Deficiency that Sets Salmon Spinning
The UC Davis School of Education
recently highlighted the
Spinning Salmon Program and its impact on high school students
and STEM Education. The development of the program over the
years has engaged more students through citizen science, giving
them the opportunity to learn and contribute directly to science
and study salmon thiamine deficiency.
“What would make you proud to present your work?” Spinning Salmon Showcase celebrates student science, storytelling and stewardship
What happens when you invite students who’ve been raising salmon, collecting data, and diving into real-world environmental challenges to share their science with the world?
You get a room full of paper mâché, research posters, dioramas, personal essays, poems, storytelling, and more!
Becca VanArnam Accepted for 2025 Delta Science Fellowship
Congratulations to Becca
VanArnam, 2024-2025 Citizen Science in Conservation (CCSiC)
Fellow and Ph.D. student in Science and Agricultural Education,
on being awarded a 2025
Delta Science Fellowship! This program, funded by
California Sea Grant and in collaboration with agency partners
such as the Delta Stewardship Council, assists researchers in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin delta.
Project Update: Back to the Matilija Dam
Discussion surrounding the removal of the 76 year old Matilija Dam started in the mid-1990’s, yet here we are today in 2023, and the Dam is still here. Initially constructed in 1947 for water supply and flood control, the dam is now considered non-functional due to structural deterioration and sediment accumulation. Classified in poor condition, the dam poses a significant impediment to species movement in Matilija Creek, notably impacting the federally-endangered Southern California Steelhead Trout.
FRYS Network: Fish and River Youth Science
(formerly the Spinning Salmon Program)
High school classrooms help contribute data towards ongoing research into the cause of thiamine deficiency in Pacific salmon
Project Duration
2020 – present
Location
Solano, Sacramento, Glenn, Colusa, and Tehama Counties, California
