Traditional Technology Day planned at refuge

Ridgefield  – Traditional tools and technologies used by humans for millennia will be demonstrated at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge on the second Sunday of this month. Admission to the refuge is $3 per vehicle.

From noon to 4 p.m. on Aug. 14, demonstrators will showcase various traditional skills used by indigenous cultures of the Lower Columbia River and other parts of the world.

Visitors will see cordage making, atlatl throwing, friction fires, flintnapping, natural paints and pigments, carving, weaving, and hear Chinuk Wawa, the language of the Chinookan People. Students from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s Lifeways class will give many demonstrations.

Also at noon, naturalists will lead a hike called “Bird Language” to educate visitors on the local avian population.

At 2 p.m. naturalists will lead another hike called “A walk through the Oaks” to learn about how native tribes have interacted with the local ecosystems.

For wildlife watch opportunities on the River “S” Unit , for maps of the refuge or to learn more about the Plankhouse visit www.ridgefieldfriends.org or contact Sarah Hill at Sarah_Hill@fws.gov or (360) 887-4106.