Long Beach aquarium spotlights watersheds

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The newest exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is dedicated to local watersheds and to teaching concepts of water supply and use.

Unveiled at a news conference Wednesday, the shaded, $2.5-million outdoor exhibit, called “Our Watersheds: Pathway to the Pacific,” features a three-dimensional model of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel river systems and a carbon-neutral classroom — the first building in Long Beach to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certification, the highest “green’ rating.

“California is facing a water crisis,” said Barbara Long, vice president of special projects at the aquarium, which is enjoying its seventh consecutive year of attendance increases, “so it is even more crucial for residents to learn about their watersheds and how their actions impact these systems and our water supply.”

The exhibit’s education programs for children and adults will focus on issues such as how trash in local streets can flow into local rivers, wetlands and coastal areas, and on the aquarium’s role in restoring the nearby Los Cerritos Wetlands and in studying the green sea turtles recently discovered in the San Gabriel River.

— Louis Sahagun