Cool field trip saves salmon stream

Seattle fifth graders dig stewardship, planting more than 500 trees and shrubs in a single day to stabilize creek bank and safeguard fish

LYNNWOOD
BY JOHN WOLCOTT

“It was dirty, exciting, really fun and rewarding.”

That’s how one fifth grade student from Assumption-St. Bridget School in Seattle described the experience of planting trees along Swamp Creek in Lynnwood as a class project to stabilize the creek bank to protect the salmon stream. The students planted more than 500 trees and shrubs in one day last February to help save the creek.

Assumption-St. Bridget fifth grade students pose afdter working with the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation in the Swamp Creek watershed in Lynwood. Photo courtesy Assumption-St. Bridget School

The 60 fifth graders spent their day digging, planting and filling one stream-stabilizing pot of greenery after another, learning as they worked.  It was a great experience for the students, fifth-grade teacher Karen Hardy said, and it was another example of the importance of involving students in community projects.

Hardy said the school likes students to have hands-on experiences to help them gain a better understanding of what they learn in the classroom.

Tom Hardy, a senior ecologist with the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation in south Everett, shows ASB students how best to plant trees for survival	"I like that they strusted us to help plant." a student said of the project.
Girls prepare a tree for planting	Astudent plants a tree

“This fits well into our school’s focus on our stewardship of the world,” said Principal Kathi Hand.  “We teach our kids that no matter what age you are you have the power to make a difference.”

The call for help came from Hardy’s son, Tom, a senior ecologist with the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation in south Everett. This is the second year Assumption-St. Bridget students have helped with AASF projects.

‘Coolest field trip ever’
“Since we also raise salmon at school, the students are very aware of the habitat that salmon need to survive,” Karen Hardy said.

The stream work for this project was on private land near the Swamp Creek Interchange where I-5 and I-405 intersect at the Alderwood mall.

“We needed some help carrying out our native plant landscaping plan,” senior-ecologist Hardy said.  “We were very happy to be able to recruit fifth-graders from the school.  This was our first project in the Swamp Creek watershed. We’ll definitely do more in North Creek, Little Bear Creek and others.”

The work site was on land owned by Len Goodisman, who told Adopt-A-Stream Foundation his property had very little streamside vegetation because his cows grazed there. The Snohomish County Soil Conservation District provided funds to help Goodisman fence the area to keep cattle out, and the students helped to carry out AASF’s landscaping design for the stream bank.

As for the students, Karen Hardy said other comments about the creek-saving outing included: “this was challenging and fun” … “the coolest field trip ever” … “I like that they trusted us to help plant” … “I wonder what it will look like in five years.”