Dear World Salmon Council,
I am writing to you to thank you for my wonderful experience as a Salmon Watch student. I’m an 8th grade student at Winterhaven School in Portland. I participated in Salmon Watch last fall with my classmates and science teacher, Wendy Archibald.
Your program has not only taught me about salmon and watersheds, but has also greatly inspired me. When I first heard about our field trip, I had my doubts. And well, when we got there and it was raining…. I thought it was going to be the most miserable field trip ever. But how wrong was I?
On the surface of the Salmon Watch program was the knowledge I acquired. I learned about salmon and their habitat. I enjoyed searching for the insects that the salmon eat. My class collected data, dissected the structure of the stream, viewed glass tubes depicting each stage of a salmon’s life cycle and watched salmon spawning. In the end I, and most of the class, left in awe of these amazing creatures.
My family goes on summer camping trips and road trips to national parks. We have seen salmon before in Alaska and on our many camping trips across Washington and Oregon, but this time was very different. Because of Salmon Watch, I realized just how important wild salmon are to our whole ecosystem.
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I think salmon are so amazing. They continue on their journey even as others around them falter. When I consider how the salmon urge against the mighty stream, I am reminded to not always do what others say just because I think they are stronger than me. I just might be stronger.
It is a reminder to do what I think is right, even if it causes some discomfort in the process because in the end the salmon make it safely home. I realized what a great example the salmon are for me in my own life. The passion of the volunteers who taught us on my Salmon Watch trip truly inspired me. They led me to understand that salmon are more than just a fish. Salmon are symbolic of passion and perseverance and have inspired me to focus on accomplishing my own goals in life.
Salmon Watch also inspired my 8th grade science project in which I studied how salmon are impacted by fluoride. I collected samples from 14 different streams, lakes and rivers and tested their fluoride concentrations. I then compared these concentrations to scientific data on how salmon are affected by fluoride. In the end I found more than five of those bodies of water had higher concentrations of fluoride than would be acceptable levels for salmon. Many more had concentrations that made salmon dazed and confused which would make it difficult for them to travel upstream to spawn. I realized then that salmon needed much more help than I had thought. And I would do all I could.
As a Salmon Watch student, I learned so much about salmon. I learned how salmon are affected by the forest environment around their stream. In addition, Salmon Watch made me believe that I can still do something to help our wild salmon. With so many people in the Salmon Watch program caring for these creatures, I realized how much I too care and that I too can help the salmon. I have even have considered a career in which I can work to protect salmon. Because of Salmon Watch, I learned lessons about salmon and, at the same time, about myself.
Thank you for the opportunity I was given as a Salmon Watch student! I hope many more children will learn to understand and appreciate salmon as I have.
With gratitude,
Helen Rossmiller
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