Two of the most important skills of a field scientist are carefully observing and recording conditions in nature and sharing your results through writing and presentations.  Capturing seasonal conditions is an important and historic skill.  For thousands of years, the Lower Elwha Klallam people have walked up and down the river, looking for unique conditions and passing on those details to their community.  It is one of the best ways to watch for changing conditions and monitoring your ecosystem’s health.  Some tribes created specific names for species of plants or animals corresponding to a time of year.  For instance, Salmonberry is one of the first berries to ripen and happens at the same time that salmon return.  Swainson’s thrush (a small, brown migratory bird) arrives in town just when salmonberries ripen, and many tribes referred to them as the salmonberry-bird.

Creating Your Own Story

When you join Olympic Park Institute’s educators in the field, you will have a chance to strengthen your observation skills, practice scientific methods, and write down the important results.  For those that are interested, we want to share your story.  When you get back to the classroom, type up your field notes, read up on any missing pieces or information, and send us an electronic document and connected images.  This could be in the form of a power point, a pdf. or a word document.  Every three months, we will review the stories which are submitted and select one for each season.  Your story could be posted for three months for all of us to read, consider, and look for the same conditions in our community.  Our first seasonal story will be posted this winter.

Submit Spring Seasonal Stories by November 30th to dstaab@yni.org.