Reflecting on Education by Victoria Hartman

Starting in September of this year, I’ve had the honor to work under Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group as an Educational Intern. Through this internship I’ve been able to use my BS in Biology to help teach the youth of Skagit county the importance of salmon ecology. From teaching them the information in the classroom, to applying it in real life on field trips, it has been an incredibly enjoyable experience.

I’ve been able to use my position to influence the youth into seeing the importance of their actions in relation to the environment. We were able to not only teach them but show them how certain actions they take can negatively or positively affect their surroundings. Positives being shown through our tree planting field trips and how maintaining a riparian forest helps the surrounding river and creatures that reside in it. Negatives they were shown were the failure of people cleaning up their left over trash in parks or the effect of what goes into their storm drain has on the surrounding body of water.

 

 

Throughout my time as an intern, I have been able to experience people taking what I say and truly learning how to value it. I was able to watch kids who knew salmon as just a dinner option, learn to appreciate the life cycle the salmon has to endure. They were able to learn fun tricks on how to remember the life cycle via bracelets we made together, as well as using the five finger trick to memorize the different species living in the Skagit Watershed. During this internship I was able to learn a lot of interesting facts about salmon and share the knowledge with kids of all ages and backgrounds. One of the most fascinating facts being that deer are sometimes known to feed on salmon carcasses.