There are fewer things more precious in the PNW than salmon and sunny days. Luckily for eight Madrona middle school kids, they were able to experience both on a fun Saturday ICO outing to the Wallace River Salmon Hatchery and Wallace Falls trail! To get the kids in the learning spirit, one of our leaders - Ashley - shared a nifty way to remember the five indigenous species of PNW Salmon. She explained that each finger on a hand can be used to represent a species. This was the first time I heard of it, so I enthusiastically illustrated it!
When we arrived at the hatchery, the guide who greeted us asked the kids if they knew the five salmon species. Before she could even finish the question, the kids started jumping around with their fingers in the air, shelling it out. The guide was definitely colored impressed! Next, she showed everyone a female and male salmon. The kids picked up the slimy fish without any hesitation, but they were certainly surprised when salmon eggs started falling out.
After getting their hands all slimy and nice smelling, the kids went inside the facility to learn more about the early stages of a salmon’s life cycle. They got to see how eggs turned into smelt and how the hatchery fosters this process. The entire tour was very hands-on and at the end the kids fed the salmon smelt in a large pool. Compared to wild salmon, "Hatchery Brats" is a term often associated with salmon (gently) raised in hatcheries. I am proud to say that salmon would be the only brats in the hatchery that morning - the kids were genuinely interested in the salmon life cycle, and had a lot of fun learning about this great PNW resource!
We boarded the vans again, snaking alongside the Wallace River en route to Wallace Falls. At the trailhead, the kids geared up for the hike by outfitting themselves with make-shift hiking poles and mossy mustaches. Wallace Falls is a great hike through a mossy, forested trail that passes nine waterfalls. Some fun was had along the way by challenging the kids to see how many could fit in a hollow tree stump. For the record, it was seven - just one short of the whole group!
The kids were also challenged to share their newfound knowledge of salmon with fellow hikers along the way. They even set up a bridge toll, where hikers needed to know the five salmon species before they could cross!
Everyone was getting hungry as we reached the lower falls, so we circled up to eat some lunch. With the rumbling sound of the falls echoing around us and Thanksgiving approaching, we reflected on what we were thankful for. The kids were thankful for salmon, fresh air and ICO! One of the kids even added some humor to the mix by stating that he was thankful we live in a country that doesn’t take Donald Trump seriously!
Oh! And as for animal sightings, on the way home we saw a bull strolling through the road holding up traffic! The trip was just as fun as it was educational, making it a great November outing for kids and adults alike.
Your friendly Seattle ICO volunteer,
Andrew Chan