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APPEAL TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2017
Life in the
Valley y
sanews@salem.gannett.com
PHOTOS BY LAUREN HERNANDEZ / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Otto Matthews, left, and Kingston Matthews take a rest after hiking under the South Falls of the Silver Falls State Park on May 27.
Passport
Continued from Page 1A
The organization coordinat-
ed with the elementary school’s
SHINE program, which pro-
vides enrichment opportunities
for its students and partners
with community organizations
to provide educational experi-
ences outside of the classroom
environment.
As the children ducked un-
derneath the caves beneath the
South Falls of the recreation
site, Stephanie Smith, a volun-
teer cohort leader with Pass-
port Oregon, taught the chil-
dren how rock formations are
created and how the earth’s ter-
rain changes over tens of thou-
sands of years.
Kids craned their heads as
Smith presented pieces of rock
plucked from the caves, but oth-
ers were overcome with the
rushing water of the South Falls
that showered down on visitors.
“Look mom, it’s a rainbow!”
said Otto Matthews, 9, to his
mom Angela Matthews, who
volunteered for the trip. “I like
the view of the waterfall down
here.”
While Passport Oregon vol-
unteers led the kids on a hike
through the South Falls Day-
Use Area, the kids often ran
ahead and created their own
path.
“This is just to create a path-
way for students to let them go
see places that some of us are
only blessed to see,” Kanable
said.
Kanable said the Silver Falls
hike was the group’s seventh
trip together. They have also
visited the Columbia River
Gorge, Eugene and the Tryon
Creek State Natural Area.
The group later went on to
visit the Oregon State Univer-
sity Extension Services Demon-
stration Garden to strengthen
their green thumbs by learning
about garden work, bug identi-
fication and weather from mas-
ter gardeners.
“Some of these students have
never been here before, so this
is really a chance for them to get
outside and for some of the par-
ent volunteers to get away from
work and spend time with their
children as well,” Kanable said.
In July, Passport Oregon will
provide its program to 20 stu-
dents from the Immigrant and
Refugee Community Organiza-
tion, or IRCO, on a similar set of
excursions in the outdoors.
For more information on
Passport
Oregon,
visit
http://passportoregon.org/
Stephanie Smith, volunteer cohort leader with Passport Oregon, teaches Kingston Matthews, left, and Otto Matthews about rock formations at the Silver
Falls State Park on May 27.
Leila Walker, 10, explores the South Falls of the Silver Falls State Park on
May 27.
Students from Beaver Acres Elementary School are led by Stephanie Smith,
from Passport Oregon, through the Silver Falls State Park.