Flintridge Prep Seniors Travel to Angeles National Forest to Study Chaparral Biodiversity in the Region

An enthusiastic group of Flintridge Prep seniors in Honors Environmental Science traveled to Mill Creek Canyon in the Angeles National Forest to study chaparral biodiversity in the region. Uniform landscape morphology and several distinct soil regimes in the canyon allowed students to examine variability in plant density and diversity as a function of soil chemistry.

CJ Sullivan ’24 and his research group encountered an unexpected plant coloration and realized that they had found a subspecies they hadn’t anticipated. “It was a good opportunity to get out there and see that not everything is going to be exactly how you expect it to be,” he said.

“I was glad to be able to take a day to not have to think about anything besides counting the plants in a specific area,” shares Will Bigby ’24. “The views were nice. The sky was clear. It was just a nice day to focus specifically on environmental science.”

Photo 1 (L-R): Nico Stanton ’24, CJ Sullivan ’24 and Will Bigby ’24 conduct a grid survey of native plant density at the remotest site in our field study, underlain by iron-rich hornblende gabbro-derived soil.

Photo 2: Students hike back from the field area along an old service road in Mill Creek Canyon, which was severely burned by a wildfire almost 50 years ago and serves as an ideal area to study long-term regrowth of dense shrubland.

Flintridge Preparatory School, 4543 Crown Ave., La Cañada Flintridge, (818) 790-1178 or visit www.flintridgeprep.org.