Through a partnership with Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) all fourth grade classes at Irene Reither Elementary School learn about salmon, their habitat and what they can do to be better stewards of the environment.
Students for Salmon is a program offered at no cost by NSEA. The program begins with classroom instruction that explains the different types of salmon, what makes their habitat healthy, and how pollution and other factors can impact salmon populations.
The Students for Salmon programs aligns well with what fourth graders are already learning in science. Students are expected to answer questions and develop an understanding that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. Fourth graders are also expected to demonstrate grade-appropriate proficiency in asking questions, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
NSEA ensures that these science standards are met through their outdoor learning experience and the curriculum complements the field experience.
Fourth grade teacher Lisa Buckley has been partnering with NSEA for this field trip for the past seven years. She said that the experience is valuable for students and the curriculum is designed to meet the needs of all learners. The program gives students the opportunity to see how important their actions are on the local environment.
“The outdoor learning experience is fun, educational and memorable. It is valuable because the students are observing and experiencing real world phenomena,” Buckley said. “They become scientists and stewards for the day in a local environment that they connect with and feel passionate about.”
The program includes a field trip to a creek in their watershed, which for IRE students is Tenmile Creek. During the month of October, IRE fourth graders walked to Tenmile Creek, just east of their school, and learned what they could do to protect it.
“They begin to see that little everyday life activities can and do make a positive impact on our local environment and its species,” Buckley said.
During the field trip, three stations are set up for the students: a water quality station, a macroinvertebrates station and a native plant/invasive plant station. Students spend 30 minutes at each station. At the water quality station they learn how to identify if a stream is healthy and how to check the temperature and test the levels of dissolved oxygen. At the macroinvertebrates station they learn about different types of macroinvertebrates and how they are vital to the salmon life-cycle. At the native plant/invasive plant station they spend time learning about how plants can help or hinder stream health.
“Students touch, feel and observe our native plants. They collect macroinvertebrates from Tenmile creek and classify them. They watch another scientist add chemicals to our water to measure its turbidity and temperature. They observe human and environmental positive and negative impacts on Tenmile creek. Finally, they plant native species or remove invasive species to add to the health of Tenmile Creek and the salmon species that live there,” Buckley said.
The learning concludes with a post field trip discussion in the classroom. Students have this time to reflect on the ways they can help salmon.