The Grads' IslandWood Science Fair

This week, as our winter classes come to a close, we pause to celebrate. The other night, we shared our natural history projects in good old science fair format, teaching each other about the various topics we have become experts on since the early fall. In October, we all identified our own area of study based on personal interests. From then, with the support of our teachers Greg and Stan, we researched, conducted field investigations, analyzed, and concluded. It was true joy to celebrate with each other the work we have done and, more importantly, the knowledge and skills we have gained. But don’t just take this blogger’s word for it…here is what our dedicated teachers had to say!

Greg said: “Last year when I was tasked with creating a new assignment for this course I simply wanted to create space for our graduate students to deeply explore a topic of their choice as it relates to the IslandWood landscape in a way that utilizes the scholarship of the scientific community and the experiences that come with studying nature outside.  The quality of work that was generated this year was exceptional.  Visiting with all of my students and hearing good stories during the ‘science fair’ has been a highlight of my year.”

Stan added: “This is what inquiry-based science is all about. The quality of the group’s diverse research questions, the creative processes that went into answering those questions through research design and the collection of pertinent data, and the interpretation of the results, in short, blew me away.  

The collective results of this effort and the contributions to future curricula, place-based content or just some fun teachable moments on the trail, will be felt at IslandWood for a long time.

In my mind, there are few things more rewarding than nurturing the ability to come up with a good solid research question, and answering that question through diligent fieldwork. Hats off to the entire class!”

Kudos to all of the grads on a job well done! 

 Ted teaches Stan about collecting the sounds of the landscape

 Michael stands proudly in front of his project about the history of fires at IslandWood

 Selena teaches Greg about invasive plants in IslandWood wild zones

 Catie displays her findings about tracking IslandWood's mammals

 Cohort D teaches Cohort C all about their projects

 Eboni teaches Yi-Chuan about nurse logs and stumps

Lily shows off her study of forest fungi

A Visit to Wilderness Awareness School

As the final part of our three-part outdoor educator exchange, we headed to the Wilderness Awareness School (WAS) in Duvall, Washington last weekend. Some of us braved the cold and snow (!) in our tents, others stayed cozy in the heated yurt, and all had a great time full of new learning and explorations. We shared many experiences together, including deciphering the complex world of bird language, teaching through storytelling, embarking on adventurous night hikes, and navigating the landscape. Another new experience was all about making fire! Led by a few WAS apprentices, a group of grads learned how to create their own bow drills using found wood in the forest. Three hours whizzed by as we whittled, carved, and singed our creations. Hoping to one day spark a fire using our new tools, we proudly toted them home along with wonderful memories of a great weekend. 

 Building the fire from an ember created by a bow drill (rubbing wood together)

 Tending to the fire

 Julia chopping wood

 Yi-Chuan cutting a piece of wood for his fireboard

 Liz sawing into a piece of cedar

 Stacey creating her fireboard

 Cozy and warm in the Cedar Lodge after a long day

Life as an IslandWood EEC Grad

This weekend, over 70 IslandWood alumni returned to this fabulous place for the IslandWood EEC alumni weekend. It was a chance to reconnect, enjoy delicious food, play trivia, rediscover the winding trails, and much more. This year’s alumni, representing eight different years of graduate students, enjoyed a time of reflection and celebration of life as a grad and beyond.

 Old grads and future (?) grad

 Blair was a great Trivia Night host!

 New discoveries on old trails

As the events unfolded, it was clear that each past class has been very unique: from the class of 2009, who was the first to climb the Canopy Tower, to the class of 2004, who had the highest boy-girl ratio, to the class of 2003, the first to be officially referred to as “EEC Grads.”

Well in our winter quarter as the class of 2012, what will we be known for? Only time will tell. For now, enjoy the slide show below: a visual tour of the experience as an EEC grad from our point of view.

Get to know a grad!

What a musical group of grad students we're learning we have! This is an episode of our series of audio snapshots featuring grad students. Today the spotlight is on Sarah Berkley! In addition to sharing a bit about her journey and goals, Sarah serenades us to a special IslandWood song we instructors sing to our students at the end of their weeks. The fact is we should also serenade Sarah today because it's her birthday! Happy birthday, Sarah! Listeners, enjoy her voice!

Get to know a grad!

This is the second episode in a series of audio snapshots of our grad students. Meet Brian Marienfeld! Brian rocks out with his trumpet and banjo AND tells us a little bit about himself. What a treat! Enjoy!