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Black Hills instructor says field-based agriculture class sparked student interest
Summary
An instructor running an agriculture program at Black Hills in Thurston County described a summer pilot forest and stream ecology class that used field days, mentors and hands-on work to boost student engagement, with students describing newfound interest and career inspiration.
An instructor who runs an agriculture program at Black Hills in Thurston County said a pilot forest and stream ecology class taught last summer used field days and community mentors to increase student engagement.
The instructor said, “Couple years ago, I started an agriculture program here at Black Hills. We grow native plants to do habitat restoration with here in Thurston County. I piloted a forest and stream ecology class this last summer, and I'm finding that the kids are really enjoying working with plants, doing something outside of the classroom.”
In presenting the program, the instructor said the class spent substantial time outside the classroom: “Compared to a typical class, it's completely different. We went out in the field for, like, 15 days, I wanna say.” The instructor added that hands-on experiences with mentors and natural-resource work made a “profound difference” for students’ interest and learning.
Students who spoke about the class described practical skills and shifts in their plans. One student said, “I like finding out the DBH tree, so like how big a round it is and, how to, like, calculate how many board feet you can get from a tree.” Another student described an outing to Kennedy Creek: “I really liked when we got to go to Kennedy Creek and they were teaching us about identifying bugs with this, like, code and that kind of helped us see, like, the health of the water and the environment that the animals are living in.”
A student who said they entered the class without a clear career path said the experience changed their thinking: “I had no idea prior to this class what I wanted to do with my life. I was like, oh, I'll do interior design. And then I took this class just to have something to do, and then I'm in love with it.”
The meeting record does not specify funding sources, enrollment numbers, whether the program is part of the district curriculum, or next steps for expansion. Participants described roughly 15 field days as an approximate figure; that number was presented during remarks as “like, 15 days.”
