Inspired by the famous naturalist, Charles Darwin, a former science teacher has turned her west county farmhouse into a learning laboratory for young students with a curiosity about the natural world.

After more than 19 years of teaching ion the Berkeley public school system, Magi Discoe (left)  and her husband retired to western Sonoma County, where she found an ideal place to put into action her long-held dream of a home-based science learning environment for kids in 4^th through 8^th grades.

In addition to the after school and summer sessions she hosts at the farmhouse, Discoe also makes field trips of her own, to share some of her collection and her physics projects with students during the academic year.

The students she works with have already been exposed to science in their regular school curriculum, Discoe says. But by using her own teaching methods, she is able to build on that necessarily superficial foundation.

       Visit Darwin's Workshop here!

The Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation has a new home—one that’s almost 150 years old.

Ken Churchill, who oversaw the restoration project, says they had to adhere to historical accuracy for the exterior, but inside was a different story.

This portrait of the aged farmhouse at the historic  Stone Farm overlooking Occidental Road is by Calistoga painter Jocelyn Audette. The original now hangs inside the building itself.

The North Bay Report previously covered the early stages of the restoration of the civil war-era farmhouse as the project was getting started, back on August 9, 2007.

Since the Laguna Foundation was established, back in the early 1990s, Executive Director David Bannister says they have worked with considerable success to elevate public awareness of Sonoma County’s central ecological resource.

Below is a map of the full watershed that drains into the Laguna de Santa Rosa, outlined in orange. The Laguna itself flows into the Russian River at the upper left of this map, near Forestville.

School lunches are free for many students, but filling up on empty calories has some long-term costs. That’s why Slow Food activists are pushing for more funds and better nutritional standards to upgrade what the next generation is eating.

The biggest of the six Sonoma County “Eat in” events will take place Monday, from 4-7 pm, at Santa Rosa’s Bayer Farm park and community garden, at 1550 West Avenue in Roseland. It's a joint undertaking with LandPaths. which manages the site. Susan Campbell of Slow Food Russian River, a co-cordinator the event, describes what they have planned there.

Beyond the “eat-in”events, Slow Food is working to mobilize widespread public support for changes in the 1946 School Lunch Act when it comes up for reauthorization later this year, says Jerusha Klemperer, the national coordinator for Slow Food USA’s “Time For Lunch” lobbying campaign.

Details on the local events can be found on this full list of Labor Day "Eat-In" events in California.

Local health officials are bracing for an unusually intense flu season, with  the yearly “seasonal” flu compounded by the so-called swine flu, which is already present in the regional population.

This illustration shows the various symptoms associated with the swine flu or H1N1 200 virus. Dr. Mark Netherda, Sonoma County’s Deputy Public Health Officer, outlines the straightforward steps that anyone can take to minimize their exposure to it.

Is it a good idea to wear a surgical mask when out in public? Only if you’re already sick.

So why is this being called the swine flu? Dr. Netherda explains its based in the molecular history of the virus (shown at left), and has almost nothing to do with pigs.

More extensive information about the swine flu nationwide is available from the Centers for Disease Control, which maintains an online map showing the incidence of the disease on a state-by-state basis.

And, on a less serious note...

Teaching kids Spanish and English together, from kindergarten through high school, is proving highly successful in the Sonoma Valley.

Students in the dual immersion program don’t just do well in their language studies, says Adele Harrison Middle School Principal Karla Conroy. It also teaches them study skills that help all the way through high school and beyond.

The dual immersion program at Flowery School has become a magnet for parents who want to have their children participate in it, says program coordinator Justina Montano, and not just within the Sonoma Valley Unified School District. Some families even drive their kids into Sonoma from Santa Rosa to take part, an extra effort that she completely endorses.