Nisqually Middle School Students Go GREEN

south sound green
Students from Lydia Hawk Elementary School look at benthic macroinvertebrates (stream bugs) during a hands-on workshop at the Student GREEN Congress.
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By Melanie Kallas Ricklefs

putnam lieb logoOn Friday, March 20, 2015 students from schools in the Nisqually and South Sound watersheds gathered to attend the 23rd Annual Student GREEN (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network) Congress. These students were part of two watershed education programs, South Sound GREEN (SSG) and the Nisqually River Education Project (NREP), which provided training and opportunities to explore their natural environment by conducting watershed research throughout the school year.

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Nisqually Middle School student delegates were chosen to represent their school at the Student GREEN Congress because of their hard work and understanding of watershed science.

The Student GREEN Congress was the culmination of the watershed education year, where students were able to share their findings and discuss ways of improving watershed conditions. The Congress also brought students together with natural resource scientists and community volunteers to experience hands-on learning about everything from benthic macroinvertebrates (stream bugs) to marine mammals. The Student GREEN Congress was coordinated and sponsored jointly by SSG, a program of the Thurston Conservation District, and the NREP, a program of the Nisqually River Foundation. The event was hosted by The Evergreen State College.

Since the beginning of the school year, more than a thousand students have had the benefit of watershed education, learning water quality monitoring techniques, and taking field trips to collect water quality data. Out of those students, 420 student delegates (usually 8 students from each school) gathered to present their findings and connect with other student delegates from their watershed. During the hands-on sessions, the student delegates were able to attend two workshops from a diverse range of topics. The topics included aquatic organisms, raptors, volcanoes, minerals and fossils, watershed modeling, beekeeping, legends of the longhouse, acroyoga, tree planting, and more.

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Sage Myers and Nevaeh Clevenger of Nisqually Middle School were chosen to be Masters of Ceremony at the Student GREEN Congress along with their watershed mate Isabelle Coulson (not shown).

While the NREP and SSG programs encompass many schools with bright, caring students, one group of students caught my attention. The delegates from Nisqually Middle School (NMS) had a polished presentation, a deep understanding of their findings, and asked pertinent questions of their peer presenters. Two of the delegates from NMS, Sage Myers and Nevaeh Clevenger, were chosen to be Masters of Ceremony along with their watershed mate Isabelle Coulson from Lydia Hawk Elementary School. These girls are standout students that exemplify hard work and dedication to the program.

According to Rick Geyen, NMS teacher and leader of this amazing group of watershed stewards, Sheila Wilson of the NREP visited the students to provide watershed education and train the students in proper watershed monitoring techniques. Sheila taught the students how to measure fecal coliform levels, temperature, nitrate levels, pH, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen in collected water samples. Stephanie Bishop, of SSG, provided the same training and education in the South Sound Watershed schools.

Most of the schools in the Student GREEN program perform their watershed monitoring two times per year, during October and February. At NMS, Geyen was able to attain funding through the North Thurston Public Schools’ Career & Technical Education (CTE) program to provide two additional field trips this year. These two extra field trips allowed Geyen to include watershed monitoring in each quarter of the school year, so that all of his students could participate.

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Students from Lydia Hawk Elementary School look at benthic macroinvertebrates (stream bugs) during a hands-on workshop at the Student GREEN Congress.

The NMS students are not only monitoring water quality in their watershed, they are also working to improve the health of their watershed. According to Geyen, in September and October of 2014, NMS students took part in a tree planting project in the OHOP Valley (outside of Eatonville). Their planting site was an area within the Nisqually Watershed where stream restoration projects were underway. Planting trees along river banks helps to prevent erosion and will eventually provide shade for the river, thereby reducing water temperatures.

Later in the fall, the NMS students went to view the salmon run at McLane Creek. During this field trip, they learned about the spawning behaviors and life cycle of salmon. They also learned about the importance of salmon carcasses in the ecosystem. When spawning season came to an end, they took part in salmon tossing at Wilcox Farms in Roy. Salmon tossing returns salmon carcasses to the river system where they can decompose and provide food and nutrients for alevin and fry (early life cycle stages of salmon), as well as aquatic plants, insects, and terrestrial wildlife. The salmon carcasses were hatchery fish provided by the Nisqually Tribe, and were tossed at nutrient deficient sites chosen by Sheila Wilson.

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Nisqually Middle School students perform water quality tests at Riverbend Campground along the Nisqually River. Photo courtesy: Rick Geyen.

Rick Geyen and his NMS students are a perfect example of the positive changes that can happen when a teacher instills a love of science and stewardship in his students. After the Congress, NMS students commented on how much they learned, and how grateful they were for the opportunity to be a part of the program.

Thanks to the amazing team that coordinates the Student GREEN Congress, especially Stephanie Bishop and Sheila Wilson, students throughout our area will continue to have the same opportunity to immerse themselves in watershed science.

 

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