Trimester of learning culminates in a raft trip

Students study in an outdoor lab -- the banks of the Deschutes River. Photo by Samra Spear

For the third consecutive year Sisters High School's Interdisciplinary Environmental Expedition (IEE) class capped months of study with a raft trip down the Deschutes River. Over Memorial Day weekend two groups of 25 students enjoyed the three-day adventure.

Over the course of the year students study the Deschutes Basin, starting with Upper Squaw Creek in Sisters and follow its path to the Columbia River. From start to finish students look at three different biomes: ice and alpine, coniferous and High Desert. The High Desert is the focus of study during the three-day raft trip.

A volunteer gear boat guide, paddle boat guide and a senior intern join the student groups at the beginning of the trip. The senior interns are previous IEE students and also help with the planning and packing and the loading of the rafts.

At its inception the raft trip was planned as a culminating activity in the spring that would encompass what the students had studied over the year, as well as provide a "fun" learning experience.

Teams of six or seven work together setting up their camp, cooking meals and cleaning up afterward. The students practice river-running techniques as well as river safety and river rescue. Before actually getting on the river students practice as many dry land activities as possible.

Students begin their journey at Trout Creek and put the fly fishing skills they've been practicing to use. Professionals are there to lend a hand and give added tips on which flies to use on the Deschutes.

"The fishing was great," said student Alan Dale. "There was a huge snow fly and caddis fly hatch going on and I caught seven trout that were between eight and 16 inches long."

As the teams of students travel down the river they study geology, geography, human impact, botany, water chemistry, entomology (study of bugs), wildlife and literature.

The student rafters studied the geological formations and natural history of the Lower Deschutes Basin and learned how the land is managed to meet the needs of both wildlife and people.

Many students got their first taste of spelunking -- exploring caves and searching for native artifacts.

The rafters practiced self-rescue and assisted-rescue techniques, culminating with students riding through a Class II rapid in their life jackets.

The students took local reference from the novel "The Sky Fisherman" by Craig Lesley, which the students are required to read.

"The book parallels much of the area we raft," said English teacher Samra Spear. "Prior to a rapid or at our campsite I'd read aloud to the students excerpts from the book that corresponded to the area we'd just rafted through."

"The whole corridor is a history lesson," said teacher Rand Runco. "The raft trip is the 'final fit,' and finishes our study of the biomes. It ties the whole package together...It's a very comprehensive trip and could not take place without our quality community volunteers, which this year included Gabe Pagano, Brad Tisdel, Doug Greene, Chuck Newport, Steve Summerfield, John Givot, Logan Godsiff and Brandon Overstreet."