Our fourth week of Salmon Watch field trips have proven to be full of great outdoor experiences for over 100 kids from 3 participating schools!
We were especially pleased to coordinate our first trip with a class from Vancouver, adding a new field trip site this year on the East Fork of the Lewis River in Battle Ground. Special thanks to Clark Public Utilities and their StreamTeam staff for helping select the site and teaching the water quality station. Plans are underway for a joint community service project next Spring with Hudson’s Bay High School students and StreamTeam members.
Pictured above: A female making her redd; Pictured right:Students from Ockley Green Middle School work together to test water quality for temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen levels.
Salmon have been putting on quite the show during every field trip so far, and students have witnessed up close the cycle of life – from seeing males jump fully out of the water in a show of dominance to their mating foes, to dozens of females actively making their redds with colorful pockets of eggs visible, as well as too numerous to count decaying carcasses that provide food and nutrients for the entire ecosystem, literally through death bringing life to our rivers.
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Not only are the fish plentiful, but so are many visitors from Oregon, Washington, and beyond! It is exciting to see families coming out to see the salmon runs for the first time. Folks will often stop to listen to the Salmon Watch volunteers teaching salmon biology and riparian discussions, as well as watch students scour the stream for aquatic insects and test the creek for water quality.
A big thank you to our volunteer educators and teachers who came out on a field trip for week #4 of the season!
Thursday, October 8: Scott K-8 School at Eagle Creek
Teacher: Carlos LaGuardia
Volunteer Educators: Paul Landau, Oliver Dillner, Katie Pierson, Dick Hollenbeck
Monday, October 12: Creative Science School at Eagle Creek
Teacher: Heather Nelson
Volunteer Educators: Phil Simpson, Janet Davis, Mark Rogers, Stephen Phillips, Wendy Doerner
Tuesday, October 13: Creative Science School at Eagle Creek
Teacher: Heather Nelson
Volunteer Educators: Paul Landau, Oliver Dillner, Deb Hill, Valerie Verhei
Wednesday, October 14: Hudson’s Bay High School at East Fork Lewis River
Teacher: Steven Jones
Volunteer Educators: Shaun McKinney, Paul Sybor, Hannah Hodgson, Matt Burke
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