Elementary and Helen M. Knight Intermediate Schools have been exploring
the local public lands with the Canyon Country Outdoor Education
Program.
At Big Bend campground along the banks of the
Colorado River, fourth grade explorations focused on how animals
survive in our high desert ecosystem. Students investigated several
animals local to Southeastern Utah including: geese, eagles, beaver,
deer and mountain lions. Sixth grade students examined the
hundreds of organisms that filled desert potholes at Sand Flats.
Students were equally impressed with the three-inch tadpole shrimp and
the microscopic rotifers.
Second grade students also traveled to Sand Flats in
order to investigate the properties, origins and uses of our local
rocks. Second grade students compared how we use rocks now as opposed
to how they were used in ancient times. They used magnifying lenses to
explore biological soil crusts up close; and studied differences in
three rock types. Third grade students journeyed back through time
(also known as the tunnel at Culvert Canyon) to experience the simple
machines ancient people used to make their lives easier. Students threw
atlatls, made fire using a bow-drill, ground corn, and made simple
stone tools.
At Arches National Park, fifth grade students
searched for the fossils left from the ancient sea that once covered
Moab. In addition, students investigated the geologic processes that
created the landscape in and around Moab. They reenacted the movement
along the Moab fault; created their own arches, and reassembled local
rock layers.
Canyon County Outdoor Education is a partnership
with the National Park Service, the Youth Garden Project and Grand
County School District. Its mission is to help students safely
experience and understand the natural and cultural resources of our
national parks and surrounding areas, and to enhance existing
state-approved science curricula. There are currently openings for
part-time AmeriCorps instructors who split their time between the Youth
Garden Project and Canyon Country Outdoor Education. Further
information can be obtained by calling Heidi Wainer at 719-2260.