by Astra Palmer

Students visiting South Prairie Creek Preserve on a field trip spotting key habitat features.

This October, over 300 third-graders from the White River School District went on an adventure at South Prairie Creek Preserve. Through the hard work and preparation of PCD staff, teachers, and volunteers, students formed core memories while exploring and restoring critical salmon habitat. 

At one station, students trekked on a nature walk to find signs of wildlife at the site. They smelled something amiss near the creek and scanned the area for the source. It was a dead salmon, of course! They learned that stinky smell is a good sign for all the animals and plants that rely on salmon to bring nutrients to their habitat. While looking for salmon in the creek, they reviewed the different life cycle stages and how riparian plants and woody debris help salmon along that journey.

Off to their next station, students keep their eyes peeled for signs of wildlife.

At another station, third-graders learned about the importance of restoring land to help create suitable salmon habitat. They put this into practice by planting hundreds of native shrubs and trees. The hard work these kiddos put in will continue the efforts to help the salmon in South Prairie Creek!

One of over three hundred trees planted by students from White River School District.

This new field trip program is part of a larger effort to connect students to local habitat. This winter, students will begin their journey raising coho salmon from eggs into fry in their classrooms. In the same way that salmon return to their ancestral streams each year, students will return in spring to South Prairie to release their salmon fry into a stream near the habitat they restored in the fall.