Elementary school salmon project spawns interest across curriculum

La Conner fifth graders did some old school livestreaming at Hansen Creek near Sedro-Woolley last week.

The students released into the upper Skagit River tributary the salmon they have been raising in a 60-gallon aquarium in the hall outside their classrooms, a tank acquired by the school with a grant provided by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

The class field trip upriver March 28 was just one part of an instructional program that integrates salmon into many aspects of the fifth-grade curriculum.

Their teacher, Keith Hunter, said it is important for fifth graders learn about salmon because of the fish’s traditional cultural importance to Pacific Northwest tribes and key role in the region’s economy and ecology.

“The kids have been learning about all seven species of anadromous fish in the Skagit River,” Hunter told the Weekly News. “They have also studied the salmon life cycle, the food web and the necessary components of a healthy riparian habitat. There have also been several art projects as well as salmon haiku poetry.”

Kevin Paul, a tribal elder and carver, came into the classes to teach the kids about drawing traditional salmon art, Hunter said. The kids also cleaned up Pigeon Creek to restore a healthy salmon habitat and raised coho to release in the creek.

The salmon project has been in place for two years.

“It began when the Swinomish Tribal Community offered a grant program to fund hands-on and real-world inquiry-based learning in the La Conner Schools,” said Jan Auman, a companion fifth grade teacher.

The class proposed raising salmon in the classroom for eventual release into a salmon stream within the Skagit watershed, she said.

It didn’t take long for the proposal to gain traction.

Swinomish paraeducator Mandy Buck can attest to how much the kids love the project.

“The lower grades,” Buck said, “would come down and check out the tank and the salmon. They loved watching the fish grow.”

The school received 300 coho salmon eggs from the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group on Jan. 4 for the project.

The aquarium has filtration and cooling systems that maintain water temperature at 50 degrees Fahrenheit, Hunter said. They change the water three to four times per week.

La Conner is one of 10 Skagit County schools participating in ‘Salmon in the Schools’ lessons funded through various sources, according to SFEG Outreach Manager Lucy DeGrace.

Those funding partners include the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Salmon in Schools Fund, DeGrace said.

Hansen Creek was an ideal outdoor classroom for students.

“One class released fish,” Hunter said, “while the other class removed blackberry bushes.”

Auman and Hunter said Swinomish has maintained an active role in the project. They said Swinomish Tribal education supervisor Loran James attended the salmon release as did members of the Swinomish Canoe Family, who blessed the salmon on their journey to the sea and back.

“Watching the kids release the coho with the Swinomish Canoe Family drumming and singing their blessing,” Hunter said afterward, “was one of the more poignant moments in my teaching career.”