pon returning from Limestone Canyon, science teacher Jeff Dunn instructed his seventh-grade students at Sierra Vista Middle School in Irvine to create small brochures that captured their outdoor experiences. His students didn't disappoint. His five classes turned in more than 125 colorful brochures that blended the children's creativity with the sense of wonder they clearly felt during their field trip into the canyon.

"It was very fun and educational to walk through the ravine and the beautiful canyon," Julia Greiner wrote in her brochure, which she titled "A Timeless Remembrance, Limestone Canyon." The cover of Julia's brochure featured a noble-looking mountain lion in repose on rocks framed by trees and bushes.

A brightly colored brochure by Tori Moyer nicely summed up the purpose of "Exploring Ecosystems at Limestone Canyon," an annual program that takes local seventh-graders into the canyon for hands-on science lessons in a natural setting.

"Take some time out of your busy day to spend a fun-filled, educational afternoon at Limestone Canyon," Tori wrote. "You'll find four ecosystems intact, how nature intended them to be. You can learn about the coastal sage scrub, the oak woodland, the riparian woodland, and the grassland ecosystems. You can find out how man has influenced or changed the ecosystems, for good or bad."

Begun in 1998, the program is sponsored by The Irvine Company in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, Irvine Unified School District, Orange County Department of Education, Santiago Charter Middle School in Orange, and UC Irvine. In addition to bringing lessons to life for students, the program helps students gain an appreciation for the sensitive natural resources on the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve, in their community's backyard. At Santiago Charter Middle School, the program has been embraced not just by science teachers and students, but by parents as well, who enthusiastically volunteer time to help coordinate the field studies.

Jeff says he was impressed with his students' handiwork. "You could tell that a lot of time and effort went into them," he says. "I really enjoyed the knowledge of the land that was reflected in them. It showed the students' newfound awareness of how beautiful that area is."

Jeff has taken his science classes on the outings for the past four years. "It seems like there's always something different to see and learn. Each year it seems like it gets a little better."

Or as Ammon Wong wrote in his brochure, titled "Digest the Sweet Nature of the Limestone Canyon": "We truly learned a lot and at the same time had fun. I think that it was the greatest science field trip ever."