Ryan Ranch: Fall Field Days

We are excited for another wonderful Fall field season and getting more students outside! There are already six field days planned for Ryan Ranch, just by one school. REALMS will be making multiple field trips to the Deschutes River with there very excited 7th graders. During those outings the students will be learning about the area including geography and the history of the Ranch, the restoration proposal, and how to identify plants. They will also gain skills in data collection when looking at ground cover, soil type, soil moisture, estimation of Carbon Storage in live and dead biomass, as well at forest density. The 7th graders will then compile there data and compare it to last years data that was collected by there 8th grade class mates. These field trips will be fun packed and educational for all the students and we are excited to more days like these.

Finished up an amazing year and looking forward to the next!

Well, spring is gone and school is over. Kids are out enjoying the beautiful Central Oregon summer with their families and friends. They might be mountain biking the Deschutes River Trail or floating the river down to Mirror Pond. Only one more month of summer break before the new school year starts, which means plenty more field trips to the beautiful meadow and river at Ryan Ranch. We are excited to start new and revised activities with all ages of students this fall! There is a lot happening with the Deschutes Children's Forest and we will keep you updated and informed about the development of the plan. As a wrap up from the spring, we would just like to let everyone know that the Students Speak: A Watershed Summit went amazing and all the students thoroughly enjoyed the day of presenting and learning. We look forward to next years! There was also a handful of field trips to Ryan Ranch with multiple different schools from Bend. The trips were fun filled, educational and warm, which is always a plus. Also big news, the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and the National Forest Service joined up in creating a PSA about environmental education and getting kids outside. It will be showing in the local theaters around town, but here is the link for a seek peak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-W2_ChjDEE&feature=feedf

The Deschutes Children's Forest will become a reality!!

The Deschutes National Forest has recently been awarded a $70,000 grant to make the Deschutes Children's Forest a reality!! In partnership with Discover Your Northwest, the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, the High Desert Museum, Wolftree, Bend-LaPine Schools, Bend Park and Recreation District and others, the Deschutes National Forest will be moving forward to create a true Children's Forest for ALL students in Central Oregon to explore!!!

Two more schools involved

We are very excited to have two more schools join us at Ryan Ranch Wetland Restoration site this coming spring. The entire fifth grade at Miller Elementary will be working with the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council on three different hands-on projects. Including learning about the native and non-native vegetation in the meadow and around the Deschutes River, creating a mural depicting their perspective about the Deschutes River, and helping to create a short video about the environmental education work happening in Central Oregon, classes will discover Ryan Ranch in a variety of ways. The alternative school Chamberlain House will also be spending time at the site exploring Ryan Ranch and expressing what they have learned through creative art and poetry. It will be a fun start to spring!

Student fair features Ryan Ranch!

Many students that participated in the project were excited to share with their family and friends what they learned and discovered during multiple field days out at Ryan Ranch Wetland Restoration Site.

On January 27th, REALMS students were able to show off what they did at Ryan Ranch Wetland Restoration site. This past fall we had a blast during our days spent sitting near the Deschutes River, tromping around in the meadow and hiking in the forest. The students did a wonderful job collecting important data for the project that will be able to be used by future students. The student fair was packed with excited kids sharing their hard-earned work to their interested parents, family, and friends. The display included student drawings, writing, graphs and pictures that exemplified their hard work. Here is a part of one of the writings that was included, by Matthew Finney, a 7th grader:

 "Over a hundred years ago thousands of ranchers poured into Oregon bringing wave after wave of cattle after them. As they looked for fertile land they found wetlands that were naturally irrigated by the river around it.  In one of these areas, now called Ryan Ranch they built a huge levee to keep the river out of the would be pasture. It dried up and became the meadow we know today. Recently, the forest service has been developing a plan to restore the meadow to its former condition. The goal is being able to fulfill their long-term goal of maintaining a healthy ecosystem while educating about nature."

One of the many displays to show the work done by the 7th grade classes

 Now that spring is in our near future we are getting ready and excited for many more days out at Ryan Ranch. Stay tuned to more fun and educational opportunities that students will be experiencing out at Ryan Ranch.

The end of a season and getting ready for the next

It has been a wonderful fall and a great season of field study trips to Ryan Ranch Wetland Restoration site. In total there has been 275 enthusiastic students that have had the opportunity to spend part of their day enjoying the beautiful surrounds of the Deschutes River and learning in the outdoors. Here is what happened at Ryan Ranch during this last fall:

Day 1: 180 9th graders from the Physical Science class at Bend High spent the day rotating through 6 learning stations- Art, soil studies, water quality testing, riparian ecology, site overview, a hike through the meadow and down to Dillon Falls.  

Day 2: Introduce 30 Bend High IB class to RRWR. We spent 2 hour to learn about Ryan Ranch Wetland Restoration (RRWR) project goals, objectives, and opportunities.

Day 3 and 4: 25 7th graders from REALMS were introduced to RRWR and to the project data that will be collected on their second planned outing.

Day 5 and 6: REALMS 7th graders collected data of 3 different transects on the back side of the meadow.

Day 7: 15 Redmond High class studied wildlife habitat at Ryan Ranch Wetland.

Day 8: The Bend High IB students came back out to Ryan Ranch to collected stream flow data and soil/plant data. 

Now that we have entered into winter, the field season for the most part is over and we are gearing up for the next field season to start in the spring. It has been an amazing season and we send out a big THANK YOU to all of the teachers that have been involved, to the students for taking an interest, and to all of the dedicated volunteers. This could not have happened with out any of you. We are excited for the next season to start up!

A big thanks!

Thanks to the dedication of many Deschutes National Forest scientists, hundreds of local students have had the opportunity to head out into the field to explore and learn about Ryan Meadow firsthand! Middle and high school students have been collecting valuable data that will help inform the future restoration of wetland and riparian habitat conditions along the Deschutes River.

As the temperature drops and the snow begins to fall, students will not hibernate! The data and field notes that participating students have amassed this autumn will provide the foundation for creative interdisciplinary presentations at the annual Student Watershed Summit coordinated by The Freshwater Trust and the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council in May 2011. Stay tuned...

Cheers,
Kolleen