November means that the chum salmon are back in Thurston County! At South Sound GREEN, we’ve been working hard to put together an alternative to our usual McLane Creek Nature Trail field trips. With our friends at Nisqually River Education Project and Thurston County StreamTeam, we created the McLane Creek Nature Trail Digital Notebook for students to learn about salmon spawning and the importance of salmon from the comfort of their homes. In addition, we wanted to recreate the experience of watching live salmon, and ended up hosting 28 virtual McLane Creek salmon field trips! Students loved having the chance to observe salmon spawning activities and ask questions in real time, and we loved getting the opportunity to work with new and returning teachers!
Now, as the chum salmon run comes to an end, we’re beginning to host virtual salmon dissections and creating even more educational materials for classes. And somehow we’re already at the end of the year! Stay safe and stay tuned for more exciting virtual (and hopefully in-person) environmental education opportunities in 2021!
