SLE Outdoor Education Spring and Summer Update

Seeley Lake Elementary's (SLE) Outdoor Program immerses students in our local heritage, culture, landscape and outdoor adventure, using these as a foundation to study language arts, social studies, science, math and other subjects across the curriculum. Fortunately, we have the support of community members and local experts who willingly contribute to the program and enable us to offer diverse, well-rounded educational and recreational experiences. Hopefully, this spring and summer Outdoor Education update will remind readers just how dedicated the SLE staff and our community are to enriching the lives of our youth.

The K-6 curriculum based outings kept kids active and engaged through the end of the school year.

In March, kindergarten teacher Sheila Devins and first grade teacher Maggie Burwick brought their students to Pyramid Mountain Lumber following their classroom study of Seeley Lake's timber heritage. Students were intrigued by the historical photos and stories of transporting logs down the river all the way to Bonner. Todd Johnson spoke with the students and provided photos of old time logging.

In May, the same classes visited the Rich Ranch after researching primitive forms of transportation. Jack Rich and his crew gave the kids a tour that included an exciting opportunity for the kids to feed the horses handfuls of grass through the fence. They were smitten! Afterwards, Rob and Cole Henrekin took both classes on a spectacular wagon ride in the meadows while the kids estimated how long it would have taken their ancestors to drive all the way to Missoula in the wagon.

Julie Little's second graders visited Camp Paxson twice in the spring to observe beavers and learn about their impact on landscapes. They hiked to the Girard Grove to measure Gus, the largest Western Larch tree in North America and learn about Native Americans' use of fire and the ability of the Western Larch to resist fire.

Kelsi Luhnow's third grade class explored the prairie landscape around Clearwater Junction in March and learned about the ice age glacier that created Harpers Lake and the Swan Valley. In May, they took a wildflower hike to Holland Falls.

Chantel Thornsberry's fourth graders took to the Clearwater Canoe Trail in April to continue their study of birds. Focusing on a short list of common birds of the Seeley Swan Valley, they learned how to identify species by field marks, behavior and habitat. In May, they completed their work with the visiting naturalist from the Montana Natural History Center.

Andrew Wyatt's fifth grade class skied the Clearwater Lake Road in March, experimenting with photography and learning about the Clearwater watershed and how snowpack affects communities. For their last outing of the school year, they hiked to Holland Falls and identified wildflowers and other native flora.

In May, Sharon Teague's sixth graders returned to the Morrell Fire to the exact spot they had visited in October to look for evidence of recovery and test their predictions. Forest Service representatives spent the day with us discussing fire succession and how forests recover. In early June, the class spent a morning with bird ecologists from the University of Montana's Bird Ecology Lab at the Bird Banding Station along the Canoe Trail.

Seventh and eighth graders had their final spring field day at Camp Paxson in April and then began preparing for their trip to Yellowstone. Another component of SLE's Outdoor Education program is the Junior High National Parks Project, which allows our seventh graders to visit Glacier Park for three days in the fall and our graduating eighth graders to travel to Yellowstone for four days in the spring.

In May, the eighth grade class camped in Yellowstone and participated in an in depth study of geology, wildlife, history, our national parks and outdoor leadership. We toured the Montana State University campus and the Museum of the Rockies on the way to the Park.

Park rangers and wildlife managers met with our group to discuss wolf reintroduction and management and allow the kids to participate in the "Pika in Peril" citizen science study.

On the drive back to Seeley, we stopped and toured the Lewis and Clark Caverns. The funds for the National Parks Project trips come from class fundraisers, donations and the 21st Century grant.

This year, the outdoor program did not take a summer vacation. Thanks to a Forest Service cost-share program called "More Kids in the Woods" and the 21st Century grant, we were able to offer a variety of free summer activities to keep kids active in the outdoors. Shelby Holmes and Gus Batchelder led the Summer Adventure Club three days each week. They took kids mountain biking, paddle boarding, and kayaking and hiking with Lolo National Forest Education Specialist Alex Romanko.

In July, Danni Parcell and I offered two weeks of swimming lessons at Holland and Seeley Lakes with the help of high school interns Shane Lindemer, Logan Robinson and Wrangle Parcell. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Game Warden Bill Koppen joined us on the last day, giving kids a ride on his boat. The final task was to jump off his boat wearing a life jacket and swim to shore.

Heath Hanson and I led kids on a three-day backpacking course in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. We hiked to Pyramid Lake where the kids learned the basics of fly fishing and caught several cutthroat trout and hiked off trail to Pyramid Peak. The trip emphasized the principles of Leave No Trace, backcountry safety and bear awareness, land navigation with map and compass, building confidence in the outdoors and appreciation of our local wilderness resource. The trip was a huge success. All the participating kids said they plan to do more backpacking in the future and agreed the skills we focused on will be useful for any kind of outdoor adventure.

The summer program is winding down and plans are firming up for another school year full of outdoor learning and adventure. Soon seventh graders will be camping in Glacier, teachers will be enhancing classroom topics with monthly outings and after school outdoor activities will be in full swing.

Thanks to so many in this community, our kids are gaining confidence, meaningful skills and knowledge and reverence for their local heritage and landscape. I can't count how many times I've heard parents say they wish schools had offered outdoor education when they were kids. Isn't that exactly what we all want -- more and better opportunities for our kids and future generations? Judging from the outpouring of community involvement here in Seeley, I'd say the obvious answer is yes.