Collaborating to bring in-field learning opportunities to Spokane elementary students
Most of us may not remember the days spent sitting at a desk in elementary school but can clearly recall details of long-ago field trips or hands-on activities like dissecting frogs and making plaster tracks of wildlife prints.
Because touching and doing are some of the most effective ways to learn for many people, a group of educators, conservationists, teaching candidates, and scientists are working to make in-field learning a standard part of elementary education in the Spokane area.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) was excited to be part of a recent outside learning day for students from Midway Elementary on Spokane’s north side and the Cheney School District’s WIN (an acronym for “What I Need”) Academy that took place at the Waikiki Springs Wildlife Unit. This event was organized by Braided Education Consulting in coordination with the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy (INLC), and Whitworth University.
Braided Education is an educational consulting organization that specializes in educational guidance and support services, with an emphasis on building relationships, co-designing learning experiences, and integrating Indigenous perspectives with Western approaches to education.
Today, Waikiki Springs is a natural area for all to enjoy, with WDFW managing part of it and INLC and the Spokane Tribe of Indians coordinating to manage the abutting property, also called Waikiki. In the past, Waikiki was a traditional gathering and living area for people of the Spokane Tribe of Indians due to its rich fishery at the fork of the Spokane and Little Spokane rivers.
The outdoor learning day was an opportunity for dozens of students to “bundle” or “braid” learning about multiple topics in one setting, including the biology of plant and wildlife species that call the area home, the history and importance of the land and salmon in the Little Spokane River that runs through the area, and the conditions required to support salmon.
Students were split into three groups to visit a series of three learning stations. At the first station, WDFW Habitat Biologist Ashley Yamaura and teaching candidates from Whitworth University taught students about river conditions required to support salmon and riparian species; including water temperatures, turbidity, velocity, and what aquatic macroinvertebrates mean for the health of a water body.
At this station, students in one area dropped a tennis ball into the water while students a short way downriver retrieved it and timed its’ trip to determine the water velocity. With their knowledge about water velocity in action, they also learned about what velocities salmon prefer.
Other students at this station learned how to determine the turbidity- the cloudiness or haziness of water caused by suspended particles like silt, clay, organic matter, algae, and microorganisms. To do this, they suspended a device called a Secchi disk into three buckets of water, each containing a different amount of natural particles. The Secchi disk is lowered into the water until it is no longer visible, and that depth is measured. Secchi depth values that are high indicate clearer water, and low Secchi depths indicate high turbidity or haziness.
The third activity taught about species that we often don’t see that inhabit the waters of the Little Spokane River and how they contribute to the health of the river and the circle of life. Biologist Ashley used a net to gather rocks and sand from the bottom of the riverbed, then picked through it to find aquatic macroinvertebrates- small organisms that have no internal skeletal system and live part or all of their lives in water. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are ecologically significant because they serve as indicators of water quality, play a crucial role in nutrient cycling, and are a food source for other aquatic organisms.
The final activity at this station had the students determining the health of the river by taking its’ temperature. They used a thermometer on a rope to get the water temp then discussed what temperatures are healthy for aquatic life, particularly the salmon that were originally in the river.
The students then rotated to the second learning station where Jennifer LeBret with Braided Education, and a member of the Spokane Tribe, told a traditional story of how the area was formed and salmon came to inhabit the Little Spokane River. Students were asked to draw whatever the story made them think of. Waterkeeper Jule Schultz of Spokane Riverkeeper discussed what needs to happen for salmon recovery in our region and activities students can engage in locally to make an impact in keeping our public lands and waters clean and viable for the species that depend on them.
The final station that each student visited involved a scavenger hunt where nature walk leader Alana Livingston- a volunteer with INLC who owns a guided walking tour business in Spokane- described flora along the trail for students to find. As they found them, she talked about each plant or tree and how Native Americans and early settlers used them in their daily lives.
The hike served the dual purpose of expending excess energy from the children, while the entire day had a dual purpose of not just teaching science and history lessons but instilling a respect for nature and love for the outdoors into the kids at a young age. It also demonstrated how lessons can be taught in different “voices” with educators, scientists, tribal members, and conservation advocates each presenting from their own perspective and experience.
It took many volunteers to make this event happen. Huge thanks to Lisa Hoxie, Kristen Labrie, Susan Brown, Hayley Rayburn from WIN Academy, Whitworth teacher candidates, Midway Elementary teachers, Wander Spokane, and Spokane Riverkeeper Jule Schultz.
