Camp Polk Meadow is a classroom

The once defunct and worn-out Whychus Creek has come to life again in recent years as an outdoor classroom.

Last Wednesday, a bus-load of students from Cascades Academy of Central Oregon returned to Camp Polk Meadow to see what the Deschutes Land Trust has done to return the creek to its ancestral route - and what happened to all the hundreds of trees and shrubs they planted over two years ago.

The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council (UDWC) guided students from Cascades Academy through stream studies at Camp Polk Meadow, where they explored the stream banks along Whychus Creek and identified riparian plants. The watershed council has been working with many local schools throughout the year to help students connect to the natural world and become stewards of their home watershed.

Koleen Yake, UDWC educator, said, "When I get to work with some of the same students, teachers, and classes for multiple years, I witness the amazing parallels between the students and the restoration project. I worked with many of these students two to three years ago to restore many of these plants, and through their hands-on restoration experiences, they have grown and evolved into informed and inspired stream stewards."

The creek had been channelized and habitat degraded over decades of hard use. In recent years, Deschutes Land Trust, UDWC and other restoration partners stepped in, and thanks to a lot of hard work and money, Sisters Country now has what resembles the Whychus Creek of the early 1800s. And it's going to get better.

Quick to recognize the worth and help of students who want to learn about the Earth they call home, the Land Trust and their Whychus partners invited schools around the region to become involved in planting thousands of trees and shrubs necessary to restore health to Whychus Creek and Camp Polk Meadow.

While gazing at the stream of water snaking through the old meadow, 13-year-old Cascades Academy student Chloe Green said, "You know, when I was in sixth grade, we came here to help plant trees. I thought it was really cool what we were doing to help the creek be restored. I loved planting the trees and knowing that I would have a part in helping this creek.

"Coming back this year, it was outstanding to see the progress. I feel so happy that this project has progressed in such a positive way. I'm very excited to see what else has happened, and I hope to keep coming back."

Chloe and her dad, Tim, will be establishing photo points in the meadow that can be used to study the recovery in future years.