McClellan Ranch Preserve

Ranger Austin recently observed monarch butterflies active in the restoration area, including monarchs laying eggs on milkweed. While milkweed may not sound like much, it plays an important role in the monarch life cycle as the only food source for monarch caterpillars.

As you enjoy the Preserve, please stay on established trails to help protect the plants, pollinators, and wildlife that depend on these restored habitats.

This spring, more than 600 third-grade scientists-in-training from Cupertino Union School District explored McClellan Ranch Preserve during the annual Creek Tour field trips.

Students from seven local elementary schools hit the nature trail for a day of hands-on environmental learning and a close-up look at some of Stevens Creek’s smallest, and most important, residents.

At the Macroinvertebrate ID Station, students observed and identified aquatic macroinvertebrates. They spotted creek critters such as predacious diving beetles, planaria, freshwater clams, caddisfly larvae, and damselfly, dragonfly, stonefly, and mayfly nymphs.

These tiny creatures may be small, but they tell a big story. Finding a wide variety of macroinvertebrates is an encouraging sign for the health of the Stevens Creek Watershed and the threatened California Central Coast Steelhead trout that depend on this habitat. Students also used the Biological Monitoring Index to calculate the creek’s Pollution Tolerance Index, getting a real-world look at how scientists study aquatic ecosystems.

A big thank you to the students, teachers, chaperones, and staff who helped make this year’s Creek Tours a success. We loved seeing so much curiosity, excitement, and future environmental stewardship in action!

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