A school bus ride over windy roads west of Bootjack brought the children to the Boothe Ranch, site of University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor Wain Johnson's replicated trial on yellow starthistle control. The noxious weed is not new to the students, most of whom themselves live on ranches or country property. Even the possible use of competitive crops, herbicides and mowing for control have become familiar after Johnson's two preparatory visits to their school. But the careful collection of data necessary for scientific comparison of the starthistle control strategies opened a few eyes. With 54 students eager to chip in, the counting will be done this day in less than two.
Students count yellow starthistle seedlings.
Johnson divides the children into seven teams. The counts are recorded on data sheets. The data sheets are later used in the classroom to compare the starthistle control methods, providing a lesson that combines science with math and statistics. And they're providing a community service. About 8,000 acres are now home to the weed, which severely reduces the usability of land and is toxic to horses.