7th Grade Trip to NatureBridge March 13 - 15!

By Wendy

Students will be taking a three-day trip March 13 - 15 to NatureBridge near Port Angeles in the beautiful Olympic National Rainforest. We will be exploring the natural landscape of the Elwha River Watershed as scientists, historians, and future activists. Students have been given a packing list (a rain jacket/poncho is required) and a Participant Registration form. They were introduced to the trip during Science class a few weeks ago where we shared this slideshow. If you haven’t already, please complete the four pages of the Participant Registration Form (including student and adult signatures on page 4) and have your student submit to Phelana as soon as possible. SGS Medical forms will be given out the week of March 4.

Our 7th grade class will spend 3 days staying in cabins at NatureBridge’s campus on Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. They will be studying one of the first major dam removals in the country and subsequent restoration efforts on the Elwha River. We are very excited to use this trip to jump-start students’ study of activism and change as we lead into their individual Pay It Forward projects, culminating in the Spring Quarter.

This experience connects to the overarching theme in seventh grade of Change From The Ground Up; provides authentic ways for the teaching team to integrate curriculum, especially by building more of a science focus into our work; continues to give students grounding in Washington state history; provides a real-world example of different stakeholders collaborating to effect change; inspires students as they pursue their Pay It Forward projects; examines multiple perspectives on the history and future of the Elwha river and watershed; and furthers the students’ work as developing leaders.

The trip is a collaborative program with NatureBridge. Students will be learning from SGS teachers as well as their naturalists. While at NatureBridge, we will be staying in cabins overlooking Lake Crescent, eating in the dining hall, visiting the Elwha watershed, bonding, hearing from guest speakers, and observing the first signs of spring in the Pacific Northwest. To get back and forth to the park, we will be taking a bus and ultimately reducing our carbon footprint.

To learn more about Nature Bridge, check out this link. Also be sure to check out Lynda V. Mapes’s introduction to the Elwha in her special report in the Seattle Times. Lynda will be visiting the 7th grade to share her expertise and experiences covering the dam removal and recovery process on March 6. We look forward to sharing this adventure with our students!