Students take to the mountains

Now that's a field trip. Sisters High School students traverse a glacial wilderness.

Sisters students headed for the hills earlier this month for a unique educational experience in a magnificent outdoor classroom.

The trek into the Three Sisters Wilderness was part of the Sisters High School I.E.E. (Interdisciplinary Environmental Expedition) program. This program, under the tutelage of Rob Phelps, Samra Spear, Glen Herron, and Rand Runco, was created to integrate several different subjects into an exciting learning environment for students.

"We've integrated Language Arts, Civics, Science, and Outdoor Rec into I.E.E.," said Runco, "and the program is broken into three different elements. We have classroom studies and research, field trip activities, and then once a trimester we do an expedition that brings it all together."

This year's expedition was a trek up Middle Sister. During their three-day backpacking trip, 50 I.E.E. students, 22 adults, and seven senior leadership students experienced first-hand what they'd been studying in class.

"Our main class focus has been the Deschutes Basin, from it's source to the Columbia River," explained Runco, who organized the expedition. "We are helping the students develop a sense of place. We tie in geography, geology, recreational aspects, civic issues Û we try to give the kids a comprehensive view of our area. Our hope is that they will take the techniques they are learning here and use them to investigate other areas."

Since the expedition emphasized a "leave no trace" philosophy, the students were broken into small groups of five or six, with one mentor student and adult per group.

At different intervals spaced over a six-day time span they hiked up to base camp and used their time on the mountain to scale Hayden Glacier, enjoy the high lakes and observe the mountain flora and fauna.

"We had the students do temperature and pH studies," said Runco. "We also taught basic wilderness skills, observation and appreciation. We tied in civics by asking questions like, 'How were wildernesses (designations) made? By whom? When? Why?'"

The trip was a hit with the students, whether they were seasoned hikers or tenderfeet. Junior Adam Goff described his time on the mountain as "awesome."

"It was way better than what I'd expected," said Goff. "We hiked up Hayden Glacier and saw crevasses in the ice. There were waterfalls, lots of snow. It was just good to get away for a few days."

Classmate Nick Yopp agreed.

"I liked hiking along the ridge above the glacier. It was really windy there, felt like we would get blown off. Next time I want to go to the top of Middle Sister," Yopp said.

Lizzie Alfonso gave the hike an enthusiastic thumbs up. Spunky and petite, Lizzie didn't let anything slow her down.

"I made it!" she exclaimed, grinning triumphantly.

Sarah Dempsey, who joined the outing as Lizzie's interpreter, just laughed.

"I couldn't keep up with Lizzie!" she admitted.

"The trip was an incredible success," said Runco. "We had a great group this year, beautiful weather Û and we'd worked out a lot of last year's bugs. To make our spring expedition even better, we are always looking for partnerships and fund raising opportunities."

For more information about the I.E.E. program, contact Rand Runco at the high school, 549-4045.