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Wednesday, March 23, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Students release steelhead fry into Whychus Creek
By erin Borla
Correspondent
Students at Sisters
Elementary School have been
learning about river ecol-
ogy through unique hands-
on opportunities these past
few months. Last Thursday
steelhead fry, which were
grown and hatched from eggs
in the kindergarten class-
rooms and Ms. Few’s second-
grade class, were released by
young students into Whychus
Creek just blocks from the
school.
Working with the Upper
Deschutes Watershed Council
and the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife, the kin-
dergarten team consisting of
three teachers developed cur-
riculum for their young stu-
dents. The Stream Stewards
storyline consists of learning
about nature, the life-cycle
of fish and Whychus Creek,
habitat, and soon, weather.
It will all culminate with the
kindergarteners’ field trip
to the Metolius River and
Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery in
the spring.
Through tanks in the class-
rooms the 5- and 6-year-olds
also watched as the fish eggs
transformed into small fry
right before their eyes.
“The students formed a
relationship with the eggs,”
said Stephanie Burke, a kin-
dergarten teacher at Sisters
Elementary School. “Every
day they would come in and
immediately go to the tank to
see what had happened. They
wanted to know why some
of the fish were living and
some were dying. We talked
about how water temperature
and how things like pH levels
can affect them. It’s hard to
describe pH levels — espe-
cially to a kindergartner.”
This lesson led to many
other classroom discus-
sions and hands-on learning
activities, all developed for
some of Sisters’ youngest
residents to understand. They
learned about conservation
and changes in the watershed
as they relate to the creek.
Teachers talked about how
organizations came together
to support the creek in vari-
ous ways and why Whychus
Creek is important to our
community. The story contin-
ued with the Deschutes Land
Trust sending DVDs to the
classrooms about the removal
of the Whychus Creek Dam
and the redirection of the
creek.
Creek conservation
became a great topic through-
out class discussions. Students
and teachers talked about the
difference between living
and non-living things in the
watershed and how each has
an important role to play.
“We talked about trash
and how litter ends up in our
watersheds,” said kinder-
garten teacher Sara Elliott.
“Shortly after that a student
ran up to me on the play-
ground with three pieces
of garbage and he said ‘I
don’t want these to end up in
Whychus Creek, so I picked
them up.’”
Students created their own
version of Whychus Creek
in the kindergarten hallways
with an artistic frieze. The
storyline showcased a portion
of the creek decorated by each
class with boulders, plants,
fish eggs, smolt, larger fish
and other riparian features.
I’ll be looking for
my fish when it comes
back up the creek.
– Kindergarten student
“The students have been
to the creek 2-3 times as a
part of class this school year,
depending on their classroom
teacher,” says Elliott. “We
came out in November for a
dry riparian planting of pine
trees; then again a few weeks
back to discuss habitat, and
Thursday for the fish release.”
Students created obser-
vation journals where they
could record their findings
and use it as a writing lesson.
After spring break the teach-
er’s weather unit will tie into
where Whychus Creek begins
and how the snow-melt can
affect the creek’s waterflow
throughout the spring and
summer.
photo by erin borla
Kindergartners release fish fry into Whychus Creek near their school.
Last Thursday, close to 60
students stood on the banks of
Whychus Creek and listened
to Miss Elliott. When she
asked them to crouch down
like steelhead eggs, they did
– they slowly hatched and
became fry. She asked about
where the fish go and what
they need to survive. She
asked questions about the
creek as well.
“Where does Whychus
Creek begin?” Elliott asked.
“In the mountains! At
Broken Top,” all the students
shouted back.
The students agreed their
favorite part of the project
was releasing the fish into the
creek.
“The bond and relationship
they developed (with the fish
eggs), even after a few short
weeks, was very strong,”
Burke said. “Several students
were sad they no longer had
fish to take care of in the
classroom — they’d lost their
pets.”
Elliott remembers one stu-
dent saying, “I’ll be looking
for my fish when it comes
back up the creek.”
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