Rogers Students Wade Into Outdoor Class

STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Cecilia Valdez, left, and Bailey Simek, both Lingle Middle School sixth-graders, check out an American alligator held by Kory Roberts with Herps of Arkansas on Thursday during the annual Outdoor School at Lake Atalanta in Rogers.
STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Cecilia Valdez, left, and Bailey Simek, both Lingle Middle School sixth-graders, check out an American alligator held by Kory Roberts with Herps of Arkansas on Thursday during the annual Outdoor School at Lake Atalanta in Rogers.

ROGERS -- Students huddled around two shallow trays listed their catch.

There were tadpoles and small fish called darters, but this class was after the invertebrates.

At A Glance

Volunteer School

Outdoor school has been a tradition for sixth-graders at Greer Lingle Middle School for 17 years. Volunteers staffed 19 of the school’s 21 stations.

This year’s volunteers came from many different agencies, businesses and groups including Devil’s Den State Park, Hobbs State Park, Beaver Water District, Tightlines Fly Fishing, Benton County Office of Emergency Management, NorthWest Arkansas Community College, the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Ozark Natural Science Center, Lewis and Clark Outfitters, Rogers Morning News, Life Touch, Rogers Water Utilities, Turpentine Creek, Morning Star Wildlife Rehabilitation and Rogers High School.

Source: Staff Report

"That's a sign of healthy water, all the fish you guys caught," Adam Schaffer, teacher-naturalist at Ozark Natural Science Center.

He gave points for each invertebrate species based on how sensitive they are to water quality: three points for the sensitive caddisfly; two points per species for the scud, crawdad, water mite and sowbug; and one point per species for the flatworm, midge, aquatic worm and pouch snail. The total score of 15 means the water quality in the creek feeding Lake Atalanta ranked only fair, Schaffer said. Last year, he did the same experiment, and the water score was 18 points, putting it into the good category.

Sixth-graders from Greer Lingle Middle School netted minnows and crawdads, pitched a tent, hiked, learned survival skills and explored during the 17th annual outdoor school Thursday and today. They learned about birds and maps, about corn and bees. They planted flowers as a grateful gesture to the city. They handled pelts and tested water. The school's sixth-graders will attend four workshops in two days as part of outdoor school.

Learning at the lake is very authentic, said Jon McDowell, sixth-grade science teacher at Lingle Middle School.

"It's what they hang on to forever," he said.

Sixth-graders don't learn through abstract concepts; they need examples, said Jarin Brown, math and social studies teacher. She heard one group talking about the surface area of roots. When she taught surface area, she brought in empty boxes for students to measure and on which to base their calculations.

The two-day outdoor school gives her a range of examples she can take back to the classroom, Brown said.

"I think it helps them understand things they think they can't understand," she said.

Marvin Galloway, dean of science and mathematics at NorthWest Arkansas Community College, explained fish body types in terms of car models.

The darters common in the creek are built to propel themselves rapidly, much like a sleek drag racing car, Galloway said. A sunfish or bluegill hiding in tall weeds is an off-road fish, not built for speed but for maneuverability. Some fish are built to cruise, such as minnows or even sharks. A bass has the body of a cruiser, front fins for maneuverability and rear fins for accelerating, he said.

"That's like a general purpose car," he said.

He led students into the creek, wading in up the gravel floor to chase fish and invertebrates toward a fine net suspended downstream.

Students at NorthWest Arkansas Community College have been doing a stream survey for Rogers, Galloway said. The count from the middle school students' catch will be added to that study.

Students ran for the fishing rods when Mike Swanner of Tightlines Fly Fishers gave them the word. They learned to tie knots as part of the workshop.

The knots were her favorite part, said Emily Sprowl, a sixth-grader. She's been fishing before but not fly fishing. Volunteers encouraged her to touch crawdads and wade in the creek.

"All this was new," she said.

At the Ozark Natural Science Center station, student Connor Ware said he caught five tiny fish in his net at one time. He caught a crawdad, but it slipped from his hands back into the water.

Students may learn about clean water indicators as part of the day, but the real lesson is in the experience, Schaffer said.

"The hidden lesson is to go play in the creek and get wet and muddy," he said.

NW News on 05/02/2014

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