The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, May 17, 1979 NINE
raders spend week learning about nature
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Don Cole, Heppner Elemen
tary Principal, is seeing the
results of seven year's of the
sixth grade Outdoor School
program which ended Friday
for the latest batch of young
sters who spent last week
learning about nature and
environment at the Forest
Service's Tupper Work Cen
ter. "The high school students
we are using as counselors for
this year's program were the
first graduates of the pro
gram," said Cole. Only two
out of the 16 counselors were
not members for the Outdoor
School seven years ago.
The 48 sixth-graders re
ceived instruction from a wide
range of professionals in
wildlife, ecology and wilder
ness survival volunteers
from the Heppner Ranger
District, U.S. Forest Service,
State Fish and Wildlife and
representatives of the U.S.
Soil and Water Conservation
Service. Cole said the period
of instruction given by the
Outdoor School is actually
longer than the normal school
day, five hours with an hour
and a half for recreational fun
as archery, B-B gun shoot and
bait-casting.
However, Cole says "it's not
just a week out in the woods.
The world we are living in is
creating more leisure time
and we are sitting on a
recreational gold mine. We
must enjoy, protect and un
derstand the total environ
ment." Over the years, the program
of instruction has been ex
panded to take in areas of
need. Cole added survival
training to the growing list of
studies because he was per
sonally acquainted with the
death of some youngsters in
the Portland area who died of
exposure during a Christmas
tree cutting outing. He feels
the Outdoor School's survival
instruction will make the
students better prepared to
meet those emergencies.
On Thursday, the students
were learning from Bob Jep
son, an lone rancher, how to
survive in the woods with a
single match, building sur
vival shelters and making fish
hooks and fishing poles from
native materials plus snares
for catching animals.
In another area of Bull
Prairie, Errol Clair and Jim
Van Winkle of the State Fish
and Wildlife Service, John
Day, were showing a fish
ybocking demonstration.
Clair strapped on a packboard
with battery and fish nets,
then waded upstream giving
the trout a minor $chock and
dipping the species in a plastic
bucket. The technology is used
to determine the number and
particular species.
Each youngster paid $12 to
attend the five day program.
Along with student counselors
and teachers, they stayed at
the facilities at Tupper Work
Center. The weather was
chilly for May but according
to Cole, most of the sixth
graders were enjoying the
week in the outdoors.
An interesting observation
by Cole is that students less
successful in the classroom
turn out to be the leaders in
the outdoor school.
"Their social status soars.
They have a better image of
themselves."
Besides survival and fishing
instruction, the youngsters
were instructed in map and
compass, weajher study and
soil study.
Cole gave special praise to
the high school counselors for
accepting the responsibility at
the Outdoor School and giving
their time and effort. The
counselors were Jackie
Gentry, DeAnn Connor, Susan
Gray, Sandi Hudson, Sherry
Combs, Larry Palmer, Joedy
Marlatt, Ken Bailey, Greg
Sweeney, Brian Thompson,
Alice Abrams, Lyn Dee Devin,
Kaedene Hollomon, Carolyn
Plocharsky, Chris Zita and
Lee McCarl.
Three sixth graders from Heppner Elementary School assembled their
materials to build a fire with one match during a survival session at Bull
Prairie near the Forest Service's Tupper Work Center. Working
diligently were (left-right) Todd Miller, Damon Wilson and David Green.
"Their social status sours.
They have a better image
of themselves" said Don Cole,
Heppner Elementary Principal
A fish shocking demonstration by State Fish and Game officials
(left-right) John Van Winkle and Errol Clair, John Day captured the
interest of the Heppner students attending the Outdoor School. The Fish
and Wildlife agency shocks the fish to count the number and species in a
particular body of water, in this case a creek running into the lake at Bull
Prairie.
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Story and Photos
By Jim Hackett
Outdoor school instructor Bob Jepsen, lone, showed the inquisitive
students how to build a fire with one match, then had his charges try it
out. Survival training is now an integral part of the week-long studies.
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