Washington-HERE WE COME!
Harmony School of Excellence-Austin embarks on an exciting journey to the Pacific Northwest, March 5-10, 2017. Ms. Scott, in her 6th year of leading out-of-state science trips, recruits 22 high school students for an experience of a lifetime through NatureBridge in Olympic National Park, Washington State. It was already an accomplishment to arrive here: Fly from Austin to Seattle. Take the Bainbridge Island Ferry across Puget Sound to the Olympic Penninsula. Continue by bus 2 more hours through Port Angeles to Lake Crescent & NatureBridge campus in ONP.
Ancient forests, alpine terrain, coastal marine habitats, and the largest river restoration in U.S. history make Olympic National Park a quintessential living laboratory.
What we discovered was more than inquiry-based science, but also how intricately inter-connected we are with Planet Earth, and just how magical and sensitive our home truly is......
Day 1: Explore of Barnes Point, Hike Meremir Waterfall, & Canoe Lake Crescent
Moss & Snow among Olympic National Park's 1 million acres of North America's best remaining example of a temperate rainforest. This prestine setting is not available in textbooks. It must be personally seen, smelt, heard, touched, even tasted first-hand. HSE students did JUST that.
"The Monty's" trail group led by Educator Sara.
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NatureBridge science programs provide environmental science education for students in the world's best classrooms-our national parks. Through residential education programs, NatureBridge connects students to the wonder and science of nature and inspires the stewards of tomorrow.
Snow, the Olympic Penninsula. & student learning-a wonderful site!
Rosemary Inn, build in 1916. This was our majestic dining hall, that Franklin D Roosevelt actually had previously dined in! A beautiful structure inside & out.
Canoeing 101. About half of this group experienced canoeing for the FIRST TIME!
So many trails. So little time!
Learning the layout of campus.
Nayeli & Ms Scott listen to instructions on how the group will acquire & divide lunch ingredients during a team-building activity.
Nayeli discusses male-female parts of the Red Alder tree. An activity called "Each One-Teach One" allows students to silently hike along the trail to a given card. They are to digest the info of that one card describing a particular plant, shrub, or tree. Trail members walk up and learn all about that specimen from a trail-mate. This builds confidence in the students, as they repeat and teach the info to about 12 people.
The needles on this particular evergreen are rich in nutrients and even resemble a grapefruit/citrus flavor. What's one to do?.....TASTE THEM! They were actually pretty refreshing. Hans, Desiree, Ithiel, & Ms. Scott take a bite then quickly join the rest of the gang on their hike.
Anna kept her spirits high despite challenging weather conditions.
Melanie, Celso, & Sue take a moment to smile at the paparazzi ;)
A whole-group adaptation game at the end of the field day got the students blood pumping and their brains working.
Lake Crescent and the weather on the Olympic Penninsula can change at a moment's notice. For a moment the winds were calm and the water appeared to clear as glass.
Students tested Lake Crescent water quality using pH & Disolved Oxygen experiments, then discussed & analyzed the data later in the classroom. Our educators researched local Austin data to incorporate a comparison into the hands-on lesson.
Hans, Samuel, & Felix ensure step-by-step directions are followed.
Data Analysis
Ithiel & Melanie enjoy seeing snow for the first time.
After only 1 field day, these individuals are now a tribe.
This is amazing! What a great experience and opportunity for the students to take part in!
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