Kids learn about ecology and how salmon find their way home

For the third fall since 2002, local fourth and fifth graders learned hands-on lessons about salmon conservation and how wildlife utilizes its habitats, while visiting an organic farm on the Snoqualmie River near Carnation.

In late October, approximately 200 students and their teachers from Stillwater Elementary, Eagle Rock Multi-Age School and six Seattle schools spent a full day at Oxbow Farm, participating in the Environmental Discovery Program.

Washington Trout, based in Duvall, and Stewardship Partners of Seattle sponsor and present the program, three days of hands-on, classroom and field-based instruction focusing on the importance of native plants and animals to maintaining healthy ecosystems. The pre- and post-field trip classroom visits help prepare students for the trip to Oxbow Farm and help them build upon lessons they have learned.

Most students agreed that the highlight of the field trip was an activity called “The Journey Home.” Students take on the role of salmon and “swim” through an obstacle course to reach their spawning grounds. Along the way, the salmon must negotiate culverts, pollution, predators or dams; but they also learn about parts of the habitat that make it easier to survive. They find cool water in the shade of trees and can avoid bears, eagles or fishermen if they hide under a log jam. However, many salmon die or are eaten along the way. “The Journey Home” emphasizes the importance of different types of habitats that are essential for salmon survival.

The students learned about native plants and animals and how to identify them. Additionally, they searched for animal tracks, simulated food webs, listened for bird calls, tested water quality and explored the relationship between humans and their natural surroundings.

By demonstrating to students how wild places work, the Environmental Discovery Program enhances children’s knowledge of ecology and awakens their appreciation for the outdoors.

A fourth grader from Greenwood Elementary summed up her experience saying, “I loved the games we played but I mostly liked the hike we went on. The field trip really helped me understand the salmon lifecycle and I learned how important it is to protect animals.”

To learn more about the Environmental Discovery Program or research being conducted by Washington Trout, please contact the Washington Trout Education Coordinator at casey@washington trout.org or (425) 788-1167.