Henley 7th-graders explore and learn about ecosystems at Lakeside Farms
May 25, 2204 / A special morning-long science class for Henley Middle School seventh-graders this week did not include walls and desks. Instead, students walked alongside wetlands, exploring a sucker nursery pond, touching a peregrine falcon, waving cattails, and using binoculars to search for different species of birds.
On May 21 and May 23, more than 200 Henley Middle School seventh-graders visited Lakeside Farms near Cove Point just north of Klamath Falls to learn how one farm is helping revitalize ecosystems in the Klamath Basin.
Kristine Creed, principal of Henley Middle School, and the school’s science teachers organized the field trip to provide students with a way to actually see how the concepts they have been learning in their life science curriculum apply in the world outside their classroom.
“They actually got to see firsthand how the integration of farming and wetlands can achieve important goals ranging from water quality improvement, endangered species recovery, and expanded wildlife habitat to enhancing farm yields, reducing farm input costs, and improving biodiversity,” Creed said. “This field trip not only gave them a chance for real-world investigation but also showed them how science can be used to solve local issues.”
It was a hands-on morning of learning.
Henry Rondeau of the Klamath Tribes welcomed the students through sharing of music and knowledge. He played his drum and sang in the Klamath language, translated to “the people came to gather.”
“I’m trying to build bonds with our non-Indigenous relations,” he said. “And I do it through music.”
The students learned about birds, suckers, falcons, bees, tribal culture, and the important connection between wetlands and farming.
Volunteer experts included Karl Wenner, co-owner of Lakeside Farms, south county farmer Marc Staunton, Shahnie Rich, Carlie Sharpes, and Jeff Mitchell of the Klamath Tribes, McKenzie Wasley of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Jeff Kerber of the Klamath Watershed Partnership, Anne Wenner and Kevin Spencer of the Klamath Basin Audubon Society, expert beekeeper Lorena Corzatt, and Oregon Tech professor and falconer Nate Bickford and his son, William, a falconer and Henley High School student.
Lakeside Farms was developed as a walking wetland to show how agriculture and the ecosystem can coexist and benefit one another through specific growing cycles and practices. It also partners with the Klamath Tribes, providing a sucker nursery pond to help revitalize the population of the native fish.
The farm has been featured in national publications for its work. For more about the farm, check out this Oregon Public Broadcasting article: https://www.opb.org/article/2022/05/16/endangered-fish-waterfowl-refuge-klamath-basin-lakeside-farms/
Creed, who lives near the farm, is passionate about its efforts to provide habitat for wildlife and improve the ecosystem. “This work is so intricate,” she said. “It’s just really cool.”
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