De Anza College students are helping preserve the wildlife of Coyote Valley, a creek valley in between San Jose and Morgan Hill, that is split by Hwy. 101.
Some researchers thought the highway acted as a barrier and that animals would not or could not cross it. However, Julie Phillips, an environmental studies instructor at De Anza and someone who has been out in the valley, knew better.
It turns out that the researchers who had once wanted to further develop Coyote Valley, and had thought the highway was acting as a barrier, had never gotten out of their cars. Thus, they would not know what the wildlife traffic would be like.
Phillips and a big team of students and faculty set forth on a project to figure out how many species of animals exist and how often they travel across the road. The team used cameras, including night vision to do so, because it is a non-invasive way of studying the animals. They found that numerous species of birds, mountain lions and elk travel across and under the highway more often that people originally thought.
Phillips’ goal is to connect students with nature and hopes that they will want to get involved with this environment that is only a 30 minute drive from the De Anza campus. Further development of Coyote Valley could harm this environment and the animals’ habitat. “I am passionate, and I think students are just as passionate, because what we found was so special, and to destroy it would be catastrophic from an ecological perspective,” Phillips said.
The environmental studies program invites students to get involved, not only for the animals’ safety and survival, but also for the preservation of a thriving habitat.
More information on De Anza’s corridor project can be found at www.deanza.edu/es/wildlifecorrproj/ or by calling the Kirsch Center at 408-864-8316. The Kirsch Center is also open to the public and is located adjacent to De Anza’s south entrance.