We are students, teachers & parents of the 5th Grade, Nevada City School of the Arts, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, in Nevada County, California. The school campus, which includes large areas of undeveloped forest, open fields, meadow and ponds, is on a ridge perched between Deer Creek and the South Fork of the Yuba River, at an elevation ranging from 2,000 to 2,400 feet. Historically, it has been called Kentucky Ridge, and is our primary area of field study.

Additional local areas we visit for field study include Bridgeport, on the South Fork of the Yuba River, and the South Fork of Wolf Creek. School field studies further afield include Malakoff Diggins, Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, Jughandle State Park, Pigeon Point, Donner Summit, Mt Shasta, Lava Beds, Yosemite & Death Valley.

This naturalist project is curated by the teachers of the NCSA 3-5 Watershed Academy, whose focus is exploration and study of local watersheds. Students, teachers and parents of the school are all encouraged to add their observations relating to school field studies and the Yuba and Bear River Watersheds, our local watersheds.