Students study in outdoor laboratory

Sisters fifth graders exchanged their cozy classrooms last week for a chilly wind-whipped laboratory along Whychus Creek.

Each fifth grade class spent a day along the creek in Wolftree's outdoor education preserve in the meadows along Camp Polk Road. The private outdoor education organization uses the area to provide hands-on experiences for students from across Central Oregon.

Last Friday, a group led by Wolftree program manager Ashley Burry-Trice worked on a section of creek where the water cut deep banks, making a 90-degree turn in the meadow. While other groups worked in sections shaded with cottonwood and alder, Burry-Trice's group worked on a gravel flood plain bank where there was little vegetation.

The group identified several different types of water flow in the creek - riffles, glides, and pools. Burry-Trice explained that different types of flow are an important feature of a healthy waterway.

"Usually we think of 'messy' streams as healthy," she said.

The students proceeded to test the health of the stream. They took samples of oxygen levels and Ph levels using kits supplied by Wolftree. In this section of creek, they found oxygen levels in the 6 to 7 parts-per-million range, slightly low to support salmon fry, which are being reintroduced into the stream.

"They're probably not going to hang out in this area," Burry-Trice said.

Fortunately, other sections with more riparian habitat reported higher oxygen

levels.

Ph levels of 7.5 were found to be ideal for fish, and Burry-Trice moved the group on to discover the key to a healthy habitat: bugs.

Healthy oxygen levels, ideal Ph levels - all that means nothing if there is not a healthy population at the bottom of the food chain.

Venturing into the creek in waders, the students used D-nets, screens, and their bare hands to prospect for bugs. Then they examined their findings under magnifying lenses, identifying different species of mayflies and stoneflies.

Recognizing that many of the insects they found are sensitive to pollution, the students concluded that Whychus Creek is quite healthy.

"I learned that there are many bugs in the creek that I had no idea of," said Annika Staedli.

After eating lunch by the flowing waters, the kids hoisted shovels and began planting dozens of cottonwood and willow cuttings to restore riparian habitat along the banks of the creek. They saw the sprouting evidence of classes that came before them last

year.

With planting finished, the students clambered back aboard their school bus to return to their regular classroom with a deeper understanding of the world around them.