This project is part of the Animal Adaptation week for Crystal Cove State Park’s Virtual Jr. Ranger Program! Click here to learn more about animal adaptations!
Crystal Cove State Park contains a unique plant community called coastal sage scrub that is found only in coastal low lying areas of Southern California and parts of Baja California. These plants have a number of adaptations that help them survive and thrive in the warm and dry climate of Orange County. How many of these drought adaptations can you find in plants near your home?
How You Can Help!
Now we need your help! You can help us by finding water-saving adaptations in plants in your area, and share with us how drought tolerant your neighborhood is!
Step 1: Learn about plant adaptations in Crystal Cove State Park.
Start by watching and listening to the Plant Adaptations slideshow with Kaitlin on Voicethread, which will introduce you to the project.
Step 2: Practice identifying plants.
See if you can use our Plant Field Guide to identify the plant species in our Identifying Plants Slideshow
Step 3: Look for plant adaptations near your home.
Next, go out into your backyard or neighborhood and find out how drought tolerant the plants in your area are!
Use this Plant Adaptation Checklist to help you find water conservation adaptations near your home. How many different adaptations from the checklist can you find?
To identify the plant species you find along the way, you can use the photo identification app, Seek! For some help getting started with Seek, check out this tutorial.
Step 4: Share What You Found!
Finally, share what you find back with us on Flipgrid! Send us a video response to share how drought tolerant your neighborhood is. What could you improve to help save water? What sorts of plants would you look for?
Thank you for your help! If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us by emailing kaitlin@crystalcove.org.