When the butterfly garden was established at the Irvine Ranch District’s San Joaquin Marsh in 2005, the goal was to attract butterflies native to this area.

Now, you have another reason to visit the Marsh - the new pollinators garden. This was a work in progress since last fall. Sea and Sage Audubon led the effort with help from volunteers, including summer camp participants. The 6,600-square-foot garden is located in the meadow area of the Marsh, behind the Duck Club and adjacent the butterfly garden.

A dedication and ribbon-cutting for the garden was held on June 11.

A volunteer installed a sturdy rabbit-proof fence. Eagle Scout candidate Matthew Charles is creating nesting structures for native bees. IRWD installed the drip irrigation with lines to each plant and provided mulch to protect the plants and keep weeds at bay.

This colorful garden features around 22 different Southern California species, most of them local to Orange County. Some of them are California fuchsia, Cleveland Sage, sticky Monkeyflower, blue elderberry, white sage and California goldenrod, to name a few. Many of these plants will attract hummingbirds, but the real purpose of the garden is to draw bees, which are responsible for pollinating about one-third of the food consumed by humans.

Bee populations have been declining in recent years. Without bees, we would lose one out of every three bites of food we consume. Bees are very important to humans and plants. California has 1,000 native bee species, including bumble bees, carpenter bees, digger bees, mason bees and more. These native bees are solitary and build nesting places in the ground and in wood. They are rarely aggressive or sting.

Bring the family and visit the Marsh anytime, dawn to dusk, 365 days per year. Marsh information is located on our website.

Four Irvine Unified School District students were honored at the June 13 Board meeting for their water-related science fair projects.

The students were presented with certificates and each of their schools will receive $100 on their behalf for science programs, with an additional $100 going to support the district science fair.

IRWD has supported the science fair since its inception. In the fall, IRWD professionals participate in Ask-a-Scientist Night, which offers the students the opportunity to get their questions answered about their prospective projects.

This year’s science fair was held at Irvine High School. IRWD Water Quality experts Mindy Bergen and Michele Drzymowski judged more than 35 water-related projects based on the use of the scientific method, creativity, relevance, completeness of the project and evidence of problem solving.

This year’s winners:

• Emily Nguyen, grade 6, Stonegate Elementary, “You Can Help Solve the Drought Problem.” Emily sought to discover how greywater from different sources, such as from dishwashers, showers and clothes washers affected plant growth. She believed that plants would survive the soaps from the greywater because they are themselves plant-based. The PH level of greywater is close to what plants need to survive. Her experiment took around four weeks and at the end, Emily’s hypothesis that the plants would survive turned out to be correct.
• Ryan Takiguchi, grade 7, South Lake Middle School, “Life Sustaining Dirt: Which Soil Base Sustains Life the Longest Without Water?” Ryan said that growing up in California and dealing with drought has made him aware that drought-tolerant gardens are important, but can be expensive to install. He believes if you want to do it right, you have to use the most affective materials. So he decided to research which soils would best sustain plants and hypothesized that potting soil would be more able to sustain life with the least water. He potted aloe vera plants separately in sand, gravel, potting soil, and aquaponic clay balls. Over 10 days, he monitored the plants, concluding that it was not the potting soil that sustained the plants, but the aquaponics clay balls were the most effective.
• Ainesh Arumugan, grade 9, University High School, “Smart Irrigation Controller.” Ainesh had the drought in mind when he began his project, with the goal to develop a low-cost smart irrigation controller. His project used a processing and controlling unit, a camera and relays to control the irrigation system. According to his tests and analysis of data, his irrigation controller had reduced the water applied for healthy grass and increased the water for dehydrated grass. After 15 days, the dehydrated grass returned to a healthy state and the controller reduced the watering schedule. He met his objectives of developing the necessary hardware to maintain plant health and had greater efficiency when watering grass and other vegetation. His project was able to meet his design criteria. Ainesh’s project went to the county competition, where he took a first place award in the Environmental science/environmental engineering division. His project then moved onto the state competition, where he received a $1,200 award from the California Water Environmental Association.
• Harrison Ku, grade 11, University High School, “Seawater Desalination Using a Microfluidic Electrodialytic Cell Based on Laminar Flow.” Harrison’s project sought to test the capability of a novel microfluidic chip design in desalinating water with multiple parameters. The effects of changes in flow rate and electric potential on output concentration were analyzed. He found that a little more than three runs through the cell on average are required for water to be completely desalinated. He concluded that even though multiple runs are required, the desalination method presented in his project held many more advantaged over other methods. Harrison’s project was selected to compete at the county science fair where he won second place in the Environmental science and environmental engineering division. He also received the science fair’s Nat Lamm memorial award. He also received an award from the Orange County Sanitation District and a Gold Award from the Orange County Water District.

Learn more about IRWD’s education programs on our website.

Providing clean, safe drinking water to our customers is a core value of Irvine Ranch Water District. If you want to see just how safe your water is, check out the 2016 IRWD Water Quality Report. It’s available online now.

The report spells out just how safe your water is and will ensure that your water meets and exceeds all state and federal guidelines.

IRWD prepares this informative report for our customers each June. Providing the report online helps reduce costs and is the environmentally friendly way of doing business.

We are happy to provide you with a hard copy if you would like one. Just send us a message at info@irwd.com with the subject line, “Water Quality Report,” and a report will be on its way in the mail. You may also request a report by calling (949) 453-5500.

The Water Quality Report, also known as a Consumer Confidence Report, is available year-round online for your convenience. You can find the Water Quality Report here.

Our Water Quality staff continuously monitors the water supply, conducting more than a quarter of a million laboratory tests each year from water sampled at 99 points throughout the District.

The Water Quality Report provides information on the source of your water, testing results, and how water quality compares with regulatory standards. Additionally, the report answers commonly asked questions about water quality.

Memorial Day weekend is often hailed the unofficial kick-off to summer and with the school year ending in a few weeks, there is no better time to start planning for summer camp.

The Irvine Ranch Water District San Joaquin Marsh provides the ideal setting for fun and learning. Opportunities abound for youngsters age seven to 12.

Sea and Sage Audubon Society will once again host its popular nature camps as it has done for more than 20 years and Discovery Science Center returns with Summer Smiles and Project Discovery camps.

All of these camps fill up quickly, so sign up now!

Sea and Sage’s Fledgling Camp is for 7-8-year-olds and scheduled for June 20-24.24, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Campers will enjoy bird walks, journaling, songs, art projects and games.

Marsh Bird Camp is geared toward those nine-12 years old and has two sessions – June 20-24 and June 27-July 1, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Participants will explore all aspects of marsh bird life, take daily nature walks and have a visit from the Birds of Prey Center.

Bugs, Birds and Blossoms Camp is for those 11 years and older, scheduled July 11-16, 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. This camp covers birds, bugs and native plants of the neighborhood.

Advanced Bird Camp is for campers 11 years and older and requires Marsh Camp experience. Camps take place July 18-22 and July 25-29, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Campers will study seasonal Orange County warbler populations, Alpine and Arctic Tundra habitat, enjoy art projects, off-site visits and nature walks.

Visit the Sea and Sage website for information.

Discovery camps begin with Project Discovery the week of July 11-15. Other weeks include July 25-29, August 8-12, and August 15-19. Duration of camp is 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Campers will enjoy a variety of design and engineering challenges, such as building and testing a model roller coaster, dropping an egg without breaking it, and constructing a catapult to launch objects toward targets. Project Discovery is for children seven-10 years old.

Summer Smiles is for the five-seven-year-old set, with dates of July 18-22 and August 1-5, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. During this camp, youngsters will investigate the world of marshland plants and animals, while also focusing on a series of children’s storybooks. Hands-on activities include concocting gooey slim, creating a cloud in a bottle, and designing a bug.

Visit Discovery Science Center’s website for more informati