WASHOUGAL – Just a mile from their school, Columbia River Gorge Elementary School fifth-graders saw snakes, river otters, deer, waterfowl and insects on a field trip to the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Students took part in a series of learning activities that involved cataloging wildlife and native plants, removing invasive species such as blackberries and learning from educators from the Portland-based Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership.
The Sept. 20 field trip was funded through a grant written with the Estuary Partnership, which promotes student learning centered around local ecosystems and helping students understand their impact on the web of life. Teachers Marie Klemmer and Jennifer Perry connect the field trip with science standards students study in fifth grade. Students use the data collected during the field trip as part of lessons that build upon their experience and help them apply these lessons to future learning.
During the field trip, students participated in natural area stewardship by removing Himalayan blackberry bushes that were crowding out native plants along the Gibbons Creek Wildlife Art Trail at the refuge. They put the knowledge acquired during an earlier classroom lesson with the Estuary Partnership into action by identifying different bird species the refuge and engaged in a creative multisensory exploration of nature using watercolors.
The grant will also allow students to collect and analyze water samples from nearby Gibbons Creek, have an opportunity to dissect trout and visit the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge for a canoeing trip. The grant provides lessons from tribal Native educators, which will focus on food gathered by Native peoples and the importance of stewardship of local ecosystems.
