NOTES FROM OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
Green River Field Trip
Orca’s fourth and fifth graders got on two school buses on Friday morning 5/2/08 and headed out to the Green River in Kent to work with EarthCorps staff on restoration and exploration of the riverbeds there.
We divided into groups and rotated through 3 activities.
One activity was exploring the logs & wildlife right at the river’s edge. We looked for animal tracks, birds, and fish. This activity also included conducting a water turbidity test on the Green River. We saw that the clarity of the water was about a 3.5 on a 10 point scale. John explained to us that high turbidity was like having a lot of dust in the air – it makes it hard for the fish to breathe.
Another activity was mulching around tender native plants to help them survive the summer and have a chance to grow above the invasive grasses. We worked cooperatively. Some folks filled buckets with mulch, others ran the buckets up and down the slope and another group made “donuts” around the plants. The mulch was noticeably hot to the touch and we discussed the fact that this was heat produced by the microorganisms that were eating the mulch.
mulching
|
The third activity was walking to the gates of the Kent Highland Landfill that was used between 1968-1986 and is a toxic superfund site. We learned about how important the way we deal with our trash is for groundwater, air, plants and animals. Trying to avoid buying products in containers that can’t be recycled is key. Reusing containers and noticing the ingredients in cleaning and beauty products are also important. Many of the chemicals in every day household products end up in ground water and are slow to decompose. On this rotation we identified many blooming native plants and learned about their uses.
learning
|
We all enjoyed lunch out in the fresh air and were grateful that it wasn’t raining (or snowing!). HUGE thanks to John Koon for organizing this day, and to teachers David, Laura and Matt for working it into the children’s ongoing curriculum. Much appreciation to Rita Howard, Jana
Wilson, and Deb Koon for coming along, as well as our great substitute
for Laura, Michelle Huse. We couldn’t have done it without John’s
colleague from the county, Greg, nor without the great, encouraging
energy of the young Earthcorps staff. It was a tiring, inspiring day
outdoors that helped us all see our “downriver” impact and what we can
do to turn things around.
