Learning by Doing

December 13, 2007

By Michelle Ma

Triplicate staff writer

KLAMATH — Yellow rubber boots and waist-high waders aren't typical footwear for high schoolers, but students from two local schools were glad to have them during a recent field trip near the Klamath River.

For the first time, students from Klamath River Early College of the Redwoods planned and hosted a field trip for a group of Del Norte High School students involved in the Academy of Natural Resources program.

The daylong outing let close to 15 ANR students learn about resource management on the river, specifically in tracking important fisheries.

Students spent the day with Yurok Tribe fish biologists, capturing and marking juvenile coho salmon as part of an ongoing project with the Yurok and Karuk Tribes.

They also learned about the significance of the Klamath River and salmon to the Yurok Tribe. A tribal council member spoke with students after they returned from marking fish near the river.

The experience was a positive way for Early College upper-level science students to share some of their

knowledge with other high school students, said Geneva Wiki, director of the independent charter school.

Students leading the field trip have done previous research with the tribe's biologists.

"I think of this as a first step in more collaborative projects in the future," she said to the group of students that assembled last week in Klamath.

Both school groups pride themselves in learning by doing, leaders said, and a day spent on the Klamath River was a chance for students to apply what they have been learning in the classroom.

Students involved with the Del Norte High program focus much of their study on natural resources and sciences, which includes field trips throughout the year, said Thom O'Connor, a teacher with ANR. The program is in its third year and enrolls almost 100 students in grades nine through 11.

A small group of these students recently spent a weekend upstream learning about the Klamath River watershed, and efforts to tag and track fish. When the opportunity arose for his students to return to the Klamath River —this time closer to home—O'Connor said it was an experience he didn't want to miss.

"I figured this is another exposure to (the Klamath River ) and a chance to talk to kids at the other school," he said. "Our kids realize other kids are doing the same thing."

Fishery biologists with the Yurok Tribe took students to two different fish traps on smaller tributaries to the Klamath River . At the second site, the group captured close to 30 coho salmon, and the biologists showed students how to mark and tag the juvenile fish.

This work is part of a joint study with the Karuk Tribe that seeks to document the importance of over-wintering habitat for listed coho salmon, said Hans Voight, one of the Yurok Tribe biologists conducting the study.

"This is coho heaven in the wintertime," Voight said to students as he pointed out freshwater creeks and ponds near the river.

At first, students were hesitant to get close to the fish, but soon they were helping to mark fish and read data. One of the juvenile coho collected in the traps was marked previously by Karuk Tribe biologists, a first sign of the study's success, Voight said.

Early College student Colin LaTulippe-Russ helped plan last week's field trip and has worked with Yurok Tribe biologists one day a week as part of his school curriculum. These hands-on experiences have been valuable, he said.

By next school year, ANR students at Del Norte High probably will have similar opportunities to work with local biologists, said O'Connor. After the field trip, it was clear his students would benefit from working alongside experts, he said.

Reach Michelle Ma at mma@triplicate.com.