Blog
Browse this page for blog postings related to middle- and high-school-teacher Adventure Learning workshops taking place across Idaho. Use the widgets to the right (or at bottom of this page, for smaller devices) to filter blog posts.
Story Telling
I recommend taking the time to watch the digital storytelling youtube videos found under the resources tab. As a teacher, I understand that making an emotional connection on a personal level with students is essential for the best outcomes in the classroom. Helping students make an emotional connection with concepts being taught through story telling is an area of teaching that I think will have additional benefits.
Wednesday Research
How I would love to be floating with you all!
From the research that I have seen, it appears as though the South Fork of the Couer d"Alene river was subject to the years of mining that degraded the water quality. Geographically, the South Fork flows into Couer d'Alene lake and this stretch had been one of the most polluted rivers in America. There is a neat picture of the river being diverted so the bed could be cleaned of metals. Although some folks currently kayak sections of the South Fork, most enjoy the waters of the North Fork for boating and other recreation. Access to the... more
Wednesday Morning
Good morning!
If you haven’t already, check out the blogs from yesterday- what an incredible tour of the Silver Valley!
We will be in the far reaches of the Coeur d’Alene watershed today, rafting the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River, discussing historical landuse along the river and ongoing restoration. Two Dept. of Environmental Quality field technicians, Todd and Katie, will be joining us for the river float, demonstrating some of the technologies they use to test water quality and genetically identify fish.
We will be talking about cutthroat trout quite a bit... more
Health of our Lakes
I finished watching the Health of our Lakes video. It was very informative and eye opening about lakes that I have fished, swam in, and hiked around. I was aware of the algae in Fernan, but I did not realize that it was also threatening CDA Lake and Hayden Lake. I am away with a few questions. What causes the phosphorous? Is it from the mining? How do the lake’s residents contribute to the phosphorous problem? What can they do to minimize this? I found the floating wet lands an aesthetic solution, and am interested to hear more about the success or lack of in the future.
Burke Canyon
As a seventh grade language arts teacher, these experiences we are having this week are so far removed from my content, so often times it is challenging--as hard as I listen--to understand some of what we are learning about. However, I was particularly intrigued by our drive to Burke Canyon. Burke Canyon is about seven miles from Wallace; it is an abandoned mining town that was once booming. We stopped on the side of the road right in front of what once was the Tiger Hotel which not only housed guests but also a stream, a ralroad track, and a road! The hotel was built over these three.... more
Mining, what's that?
Since I am from an agricultural community, I don’t know how receptive the lessons about mining practices would be since students don’t live here and see the impacts. I might be able to make a correlation to agriculture in some way. Both mining and agricultural practices both hurt the environment in different ways. We could study mining and since they see the impacts that agricultural practices have on the land, they could certainly compare the two.