 |
| Jefferson
Elementary School third-grader Star Shea looks over plant life along the
banks of Dixon Creek on Monday afternoon as part of a class project. The
school received two grants to help Jefferson teachers incorporate Dixon Creek
projects into their curriculum. (Karl Maasdam/Gazette-Times)
|
Discovering Dixon Creek
By THERESA HOGUE
Gazette-Times reporter
Grant gives children a chance to soak up the natural wealth that lies near them
Dixon
Creek is more than just a pretty little corner near Jefferson Elementary
School. It's an outdoor classroom where students can sit and sketch on warm
fall days, where there's a lesson in every leaf and a teacher in every bird's
song.
This year, two grants
equaling $17,000 will help Jefferson teachers incorporate Dixon Creek projects
into every classroom. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave Jefferson
a $13,784 grant to purchase research supplies, technological support, expenses
for project coordination and educational literature for a stream restoration
project.
A
second grant of $3,665 from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board will be
used to buy bare root trees, shrubs and other native plants, as well as pay
for removing non-native species.
Patti Warner is Jefferson's 4-H wildlife
steward, and is coordinating the Dixon Creek project with teachers Kristin
Erickson and Hilary Schloss. Warner wrote the watershed grant proposal, and
Erickson wrote the EPA grant proposal. They were thrilled and surprised to
receive both grants.
The students, with volunteer help, will restore
the stretch of Dixon Creek that runs past the school. It's a small area but
will take many months of work.
"We don't fool ourselves that a little
stretch of creek will make a big difference," Erickson said. "But we hope
that folks who live along the creek will use it as a model. It could have
an impact."
The area was part of a restoration project in 1994 but
has since been neglected. Blackberries and canary reed grass have taken over,
and many native plants that once bloomed on the banks are gone. The students
will soon be in charge of changing that.
"We'll get kids to do the
research, and older kids will help design a plan on what we'll do," Erickson
said. "Students will do water monitoring, fish inventory, tree identification,
shrub identification, as well as bird surveys. All of these are already in
the works. Every classroom will be involved in one part or another."
Outside
groups will also help, including the Audubon Society, OSU 4-H Extension and
students at Crescent Valley High School. This Saturday, the outdoor classroom
will be open to the public during Dixon Creek Day from 9 a.m. to noon and
from 1 to 3 p.m. The public is invited to visit with students, talk with
local agencies and businesses about restoring streams, and learn about the
various Dixon Creek projects in the works.
During the event, third-graders
will test the creek for water quality as part of an international event called
World Water Monitoring Day. Crescent Valley students will help the third-graders
gather data and add it to a database through the International Water Association.
"This is an example of thinking globally, acting locally," Warner said.
For more information on the Dixon Creek project, call Warner at 752-0345.
Theresa Hogue is a reporter for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached at [email protected] or 758-9526.
Print this story
Email this story
|
