In the past week, every 7^th grader (120-190 students per day) in the Tahoma School District participated in a forest ecology field trip led by King County Parks staff. These young arborists spent the day rotating through three unique and interactive stations at Ravensdale Park and the Cemetery Reach Natural Area.

At the first station, teachers led students in doing forest plots. They collected data on tree types, spacing of trees and under-story vegetation.

For the second station, students cleared blackberry bushes and grubbed roots to begin restoration along Rock Creek. On October 8^th, our volunteer program will return to the site to plant native trees and shrubs.

Students walked along the newly developed interpretive history trail for their third rotation. The trail winds through Ravensdale’s rich history of mining, logging, and railroad construction. This allowed the students to connect to their community’s history in a tangible way.

All in all this was a great experience for both students and staff. This opportunity allowed the students to use the outdoors as a classroom; taking both their history lessons and their science studies into the field. Special thanks to the King County Parks staff and the Tahoma School District teachers for inspiring young minds to be passionate about outdoor spaces!

For more photos of the field trip, check out our flickr page.