IRWD Receives Financial Reporting Recognition
IRWD's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) has received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association. This is the fifth consecutive year IRWD has received this recognition.
This award is the highest form of achievement in the area of government accounting and financial reporting. IRWD’s CAFR was judged by an independent panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to communicate its financial story.
“This recognition represents a coordinated effort by the IRWD financial team to exercise transparency in financial reporting,” said IRWD General Manager Paul Jones. “Our employees have the highest standards of professionalism.”
The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional association serving more than 17,500 state/provincial and local finance officers in the United States and Canada. The certificate program is designed to recognize and encourage excellence in financial reporting by state and local governments.
IRWD Honors Science Fair Winners
Each year, the district judges water-related projects at the Irvine Unified School District Science Fair and selects those worth of recognition. Selection of the winning projects was based on the use of the scientific method, creativity, relevance, completeness of research and evidence of problem solving.
Winners this year included:
- David Ho, 11th grade, University High School – “The Effect of Various Modern Chemical Hazards on the Taxis Behavior and the Regenerative Agility of Dugesia Tigrina”
- Jacob Torrey, 7th grade, Plaza Vista School – “Fertilizer, a Naughty Nutrient”
- Karen Yang, 6th grade, Brywood School – “Salt in the Humidifier”
- Ben Roznos, 6th grade, Deerfield School – “Evaporation”
The students were honored at a recent meeting of the IRWD Board of Directors and each received a certificate. In addition, IRWD donates $100 in honor of each student to their school for the purchase of science equipment or books.
Every year, IRWD judges water-related projects at the Irvine Unified School District’s Science Fair and selects winners. This year’s four winners are from left, Jacob Torrey, Karen Yang, Ben Roznos and Dave Ho.
Seven Students in IRWD Service Area Honored
Seven students from IRWD’s service area were honored in the Municipal Water District of Orange County’s (MWDOC) annual Water Awareness poster and slogan contest, breaking a record for the number of winners. More than 1,600 entries were submitted countywide.
Winners in the poster category were:
- Aileen Powell, second grade, East Shore Elementary School
- Susie Kang, fourth grade, Foothill Ranch Elementary School
- Adyta Maker, second grade, Deerfield Elementary School
- Kylee See, second grade, Deerfield Elementary School
Students who penned winning slogans were:
- Nathan Foster, fifth grade, Santiago Hills Elementary School
- Ryan No, fifth grade, Santiago Hills Elementary School
- Quid Reid, fifth grade, Santiago Hills Elementary School
The students were recognized at an awards ceremony at the Discovery Science Center, where they had photos taken with MWDOC's mascot, Ricky Raindrop. IRWD participates in MWDOC’s contest every year and in a poster contest sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Sea and Sage to Host Summer Barbecue
The Sea and Sage Audubon Society will hold its annual Summer Barbecue at IRWD’s San Joaquin Marsh on Saturday, July 31 from 5:30-10 p.m.
This family event will feature something for everyone:
- Dining under the stars in the meadow
- Evening walks around the marsh
- A sale of used nature books
- A great program on ospreys and other Orange County birds of prey by Pete Bloom, who has studied raptors in the county for nearly 45 years
- A night wildlife talk
The menu will include barbecued chicken and hot dogs, salads, chips, fresh fruit, cake, lemonade and coffee. A vegetarian entrée will be provided for those who specifically request it on their reservation forms.
Advance reservations are essential. Those with email will be sent their reservation confirmations and tickets – all others may pick them up when they check in at the barbecue.
Tickets for the barbecue and program are $15 for adults and $7 for children under five. Tickets include meals and beverages, evening marsh walk and program. Activities will begin at 5 p.m. Dinner will be served from 6-7 p.m., followed by the program, or whenever it’s dark. The first marsh walk will be from 6:30-7:30 p.m. to take in the sights and sounds as the marsh life settles in for the evening.
The post-speaker marsh walk will focus on bats and other nocturnal animals that frequent the sanctuary at night.
For more information, reservations, and directions, call Sea and Sage Audubon at (949) 261-7963. The Marsh is a hidden gem located in the heart of Irvine.
Osprey Chick Hatches at San Joaquin Marsh Nesting Platform
More than 200 species of birds have been sighted at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, including many raptors, such as the osprey.
Now for the first time, an osprey pair has hatched a chick in a nest they constructed in a 40-foot tall nesting platform installed last summer. The platform is located on a peninsula in one of the marsh’s ponds, which gives the birds the illusion of being surrounded by water, but also allows access to maintenance crews. Currently, the trail to the platform is not accessible to the public, but the birds may be best viewed from adjacent trails.
IRWD installed the platform at the request of the Sea and Sage Audubon Society, which wanted it modeled after the successful platform at Newport Back Bay’s Shellmaker Island.
“In January, we observed the nesting pair gathering material for the nest,” said Jason Tran, wetlands specialist for IRWD. “The chick hatched in early May.”
Interestingly enough, the chick’s mother was born in 2008 at the Shellmaker Island platform. She was tracked to that site by leg bands biologists at Shellmaker’s Marine Science Center had placed on her. Experts say female ospreys usually don’t nest until they are at least three years old.
In June, Sea and Sage held a banding event at the marsh. Local raptor biologist Pete Bloom and raptor expert Scott Thomas removed the chick from the nest and put bands on its legs then returned it to the nest.
Recently, the chick flew from the nest for the first time. It is still dependent on the parents for food, so it frequently returns to the nest.
It is estimated that osprey nests had not been reported in Orange County for more than 70 years, until the platform at Shellmaker Island was built four years ago. Since then, there have been several successful nests there. It is hoped that the platform at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary will see many more osprey chicks hatched there in the future.
