Over the course of three separate sessions this summer, 33 new volunteers, 12 new teachers and a few past participants who wanted a refresher gathered at Wildwood Recreation Site just west of Mt. Hood to learn best practices for delivering the Salmon Watch program.
“Great job – I’m thrilled to be a part of Salmon Watch. You covered everything and made it simple for me to understand how to talk to kids. Now we’ll see how it goes when I have a class on the river….”
Whether it was their first time collecting and identifying aquatic insects, figuring out how to encourage every kid to be a scientist for the day, or meeting with peers to get tips for integrating the curriculum into the classroom – everyone had a common connection: a passion for using the life-cycle of our region’s iconic salmon to get students excited about learning, discovery, and finding their sense of place.
“It was very useful to gain first hand experience of the activities that our students will be completing. The teacher expectations overview was very helpful and we were able to get answers to any questions we had as well.”
Salmon Watch would not exist without the commitment of teachers to bring this program into their schools, and without the over 100 volunteers needed to fill 228 field trip station slots in the Portland metro and Columbia Gorge regions. As field trips take place during the week, we are especially grateful for those volunteers who take personal/vacation days to participate.
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“It was great to see what the students would be experiencing so I can better prepare them for the trip.”
Many thanks to the following wonderful Salmon Watch trainers for giving their time, knowledge and expertise this summer:
Wendy Archibald, Teacher (retired), Winterhaven School K-8 (Sept)
Jana Grote, Aquatic Conservation Program Manager, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Salmon Watch Steering Committee Member (July, Aug)
Walt Hollands, Teacher, Grant High School & Lead Trainer (July, Aug, Sept)
Joe Kelly, Teacher, Hood River Valley High School; World Salmon Council Board Member (July, Aug)
Jim Martin, Professor of Science, PSU Center for Science Education (retired); World Salmon Council Board Member (July, Aug, Sept)
Laurie McDowell, Teacher (retired) Lent School K-8; Salmon Watch Steering Committee Member (July, Aug)
Shivonne Nesbit, Fisheries Biologist, National Marine Fisheries Service of NOAA (Sept)
Mary Ann Schmidt, Board Member, Crystal Springs Partnership and Johnson Creek Watershed Council (Sept)
Kai Steimle, Fisheries Biologist, R2 Resource Consulting; World Salmon Council Board Member (Sept)
We can now officially say – Happy Salmon Watch Season! Kids are using the ecology of salmon in their studies, field trips begin Sept 17 and run through November, and community service projects are being planned for next spring.
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