Salmon Watch is an experiential, environmental education curriculum centered in salmon ecology that brings together watershed councils, agency, partners, and volunteers to provide an exciting opportunity for kids throughout Lane County. Local middle and high school teachers use in-class curriculum covering the salmon life cycle and ecological needs of salmon to teach everything from science and math to literature and history. In the field trip component of this curriculum, staff, agency partners, and volunteers share with local students about salmon and watershed ecology. Focusing on water quality, riparian ecology, fish biology and macroinvertebrates, students perform field-based activities and experiments, and then record observations. Through hands-on stream-side participation, the Lane County Salmon Watch program instills deeper understanding of each person’s relationship to their local watershed, reconnecting communities to the natural world.
Check out this great film by Freshwater Illustrated and the World Salmon Council for brief glimpse into what a day at Salmon Watch looks like and visit the World Salmon Council’s website for more information.