The smoky air cleared for a soggy, fall day on Friday as kindergartners from Battle Ground Public Schools descended on the district’s Center for Agriculture, Science and Environmental Education (CASEE) for the first time in three years.
On Oct. 21, students from Maple Grove Primary School were the first to visit the center’s property in Brush Prairie. The Nakia Creek Fire had stifled plans for other elementary schools to attend the center earlier in the week, but a break in the weather that included rain brought the air quality index to healthy levels in time for Friday’s scheduled visits to commence.
The kindergarteners visited a number of stations staffed by CASEE students as they learned about nature. Those stations included learning about the colors of nature, seeds, animal tracks, amphibians and invertebrates, as well as farm animals like goats brought in by students. The event also featured a pumpkin patch, where the kindergarteners were able to pick their own pumpkin.
Chris Collmer, one of CASEE’s teachers, said the center hadn’t been able to host its fall visit since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Then, smoke from the Nakia Creek Fire made it unhealthy to host the outdoor event until Friday.
“It’s wonderful. It’s been a long time,” Collmer said.
The event was part of the center’s public speaking component for its students who facilitate visits by the younger grades in the district year-round. Collmer said the kindergarteners’ visits helped the center’s students by “empowering them to teach others and lead.”
“Every occupation is better with public speaking skills. Life in general, you can do so much more if you are able and willing to speak in front of others,” Collmer said.
CASEE welcomes BGPS students to its grounds from all elementary school grade levels, including first grade visits to learn about plants and fourth grade trips to learn about forestry, according to the center’s website. The center’s students take part in the half-day program where they learn a variety of disciplines ranging from environmental science to industrial biotechnology.
One of those students, senior Caleb McLachlan, staffed a station examining the invertebrate life found on the center’s 80-acre site.
“Insects are incredibly important to the environment. They help a lot of processes in water. They help predators, they help prey,” McLachlan said.
The animals on display included snails, backswimmers and damselfly larvae. McLachlan said the students used spring traps to collect the animals before they identified them. They are usually released afterwards, except when they are used in displays like those featured during the kindergarten visits.
McLachlan noted his sophomore year had been stifled by COVID-19 restrictions, so now with relatively normal operations in the district, he said it was great to be back out in the field.
“We are dying to come out here and start showing people stuff, as well as doing more hands-on things,” McLachlan said.
