Community Organizations and Services
Marietta Larsen Memorial Nature Preserve by Anne McClain This swath of protected land surrounds Larsen Creek, bisecting the Lagunitas School District campus. It is intended to be both a protected natural area and an out- door classroom for the students of the school district. Spanning Larsen Creek is the Salmon Bridge where there is informational signage about the salmon and steelhead trout who arrive every winter to spawn. Beside the creek are grasslands and an oak forest. The preserve trails pro- vide opportunities to see birds, spot signs of wildlife, and identify native plants. The Preserve was established in 1965 with funds from Marietta Larsen and others. She died in 1966. It is now a testament to her memory. Marietta Larsen was born in 1906 in Denver, Colorado, and moved with her family to Palo Alto, California, as a teenager. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford and then went on to graduate from Stanford Law School where she met her first husband, Russell Harriman. Living in Pas- adena, they had two sons, Thomas and Jeffrey Harriman. A life-long volunteer, she was active with the Huntington Memorial Hospital and the Huntington Library. In 1952, Marietta married Dr. Albert Larsen and moved to Woodacre where she became involved in her sons’ schools, Lagunitas Grammar School and Drake High School. She was a long-time trustee of the Lagunitas School District and then of the Tamalpais High School District. She was also a life member of the Lagunitas and Drake High School Parent Teachers Associations, a mem- ber of the San Geronimo Valley Association, and the Junior League of San Francisco. She was interested in promoting school district unification and was a member of the Marin County Committee for School District Organization. She clearly had a deep connection to the value of education and to enriching the students’ educational experience. The Preserve stands as the embodiment of her commitment. In 1999, Wilderness Way learned that teachers had concerns about poison oak on the trails. Every fall, since, Wilderness Way has cleared the poison oak and taught classes about the Preserve’s native plants, wildlife (especially birds and salmon) and Native American skills in seeing and hearing in the outdoors. Children helped build two track- ing boxes on the trails for wildlife identification, plaster cast making and telling the stories the tracks tell. Students made Salmon Crossing signs for the creek and bridge, and put Wishing Poles on the bridge every fall to call back the salmon. Wilderness Way has worked in partnership with the County on creek restoration projects and is currently updating the Preserve Handbook. Plans are afoot in the fall of 2017 to restore and revitalize the Preserve. The Lagunitas School District in partnership with the Marin Resource Conservation District and the family of Marietta Larsen are coordinating this restoration. Please see the Community Guide Online for updates.
About the Lagunitas School District
Located in the beautiful San Geronimo Valley of Marin County, California, the Lagunitas School District com- prises three public school programs, a K-6 Open Class- room, a K-5 Montessori and a Middle School. Open Classroom : Members of the Open Classroom community see social, physical, emotional, and aca- demic growth as being interrelated and of equal value. In order to meet the needs of the total child, we emphasize respect for the individual and individual learning styles, emotional growth and freedom of choice. More at http://lagunitas.org/open/ Lagunitas Montessori : Dr. Montessori believed that learning is an exciting process of discovery, leading to concentration, motivation, self-discipline and a love of learning and peace. More at http://www.lagunitasmon- tessori.org/ The Middle School Program is a semi-departmental- ized program. Students rotate through several different teachers to receive a core curriculum in language arts, math, science and social studies. A variety of enrich- ment activities are infused into the students’ daily sched- ule including art, drama, foreign language, music and technology. A “Social Skills” class is included for one trimester for all students in each year of Middle School as part of the enrichment activities. Emphasis is placed on individuals experiencing success by developing self- confidence and heightened sense of self-esteem. More at http://lagunitas.org/middleschool/ Contact: Lagunitas School District
415-488-4118 x 201 415-488-9617 (fax) lagunitas.org Lagunitas School Office 415-488-9437 x 203 415-488-9617 (fax) San Geronimo School Office 415-488-9421 x 301 415-488-1011 (fax) Mailing Address: Lagunitas School District PO Box 308 One Lagunitas School Road San Geronimo 94963
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50 th Anniversary
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