SHS students get close to nature

"I have witnessed many students who struggle with depression and low self-esteem develop a more confident and optimistic voice while spending time writing poetry and/or songs out in nature.

"Writing alongside the creek seems to breathe fresh air into students' perspectives about themselves and their place in the world. As in one of the group's songs, 'My Waters My Winds' the students' wrote, 'And the river says, No longer are you what the world tells you but what you tell the world.'"

That's what Kolleen Yake, education director for the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, has to say about the impact of the Sisters High School IEE program on juniors who participate in the "Upstream" project operated by the Watershed Council.

Earlier this month, 18 SHS juniors visited the upper reaches of Whychus Creek, just above Sisters. The aim of this visit was to share what they had created in their many previous visits to the creek. As soon as the students hit the trail along the creek, IEE (Interdisciplinary Environmental Education) teacher Samra Spear and Yake gathered everyone up in a shady glen and invited them to share their music.

In moments a ukulele could be heard, along with a couple of guitars as the students began to warm up. Jessica Shepardson was one of the students who composed a song and wrote the lyrics that spoke of what she felt in her heart and how she saw her experience on Whychus Creek.

"Being out by the creek has been so amazing and inspiring," Shepardson, said. "It's great to be at a place that is so close to home, and I hope will always be here because it is so beautiful. With Kolleen we have been given prompts about the creek to work on as poetry.

"From there we took our poetry and turned them into songs. One day in particular we were asked to write a poem based on the sounds we heard around us around the creek. From that poem I came up with my song 'Singing with the Sounds.'"

Birds tweet a hello, Trees dancing around,

How many miles have I gone?

Wind combs through my hair, Water ripples like petals,

Is this where I belong?

An everlasting friend

Child of the Sisters

Singing with the sounds...

In addition to finding their talents through the arts, the students also learned some hard science about hydrology. They are now capable of describing how watersheds, riparian zones and streams function, and understand the role humans play in environmental protection.

They've also had a hands-on opportunity to actively restore the plants missing from the creek riparian to have a healthy ecosystem, and created fish habitat that favors the reintroducing of salmon to the creek.

Chance Halley, Colton Manhalter and Steen Johnson had a similar outlook on their experience on Whychus Creek. Colton had this to say: "Coming out here made us realize how blessed we are to have something so special, so close to home."

Steen said, "You know how we have energetic personalities, and coming out here to the creek brings us a new peace and physically shows us how blessed we are."

The hope is that many of the students will develop awareness about stewardship and long-term protection for Whychus Creek through the creation, production, and widespread distribution of a CD.