Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Forest Stories:
Humanities in the Environment
Developed by: Dylan Plummer and Chelsea Sussman
Time: 75 minutes
Overview
This station gives students an opportunity to interface with the environment through a unique
blend of history, ethnobotany, storytelling, and creativity. By incorporating expressive and
artistic activities, it helps students relate to the environment on an emotional level, encouraging a
deeper sense of connection and care. This station also incorporates information about local
indigenous peoples to help instill a sense of place, as well as providing them with invaluable
historical context about where they live.
Rationale
This station is designed to teach students about the history of the land and the history of the
people that have inhabited it. It will also show that great results can emerge when different
disciplines are combined (such as humanities and natural science). An interdisciplinary approach
is an integral part of environmental education. Incorporating emotional connections to the
environment makes the scientific data meaningful and personal. Instilling a sense of place is a
main focus for this activity, as strong connections to landscapes lead to caring relationships with
the natural world and environmental stewardship.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this station, middle school students will be able to:
1. Define Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
2. Describe the Kalapuya seasonal rounds
3. Explain how observation is the root of science and art
Links to Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’
resources, such as food, energy, and medicines. This station will meet the standard by
demonstrating the ways in which indigenous humans relied on the biodiversity of the
Willamette valley to hunt and gather foods seasonally.
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Materials Needed
❏ Scrap Paper
❏ Clipboards
❏ RiteintheRain paper
❏ Markers/Pencils
❏ Sit Spot Squares
Background
The Kalapuya have inhabited the southern Willamette valley for time immemorial. Their rich
subsistence culture was intertwined with the changes in the seasons; each seasonal change is
referred to as a “round”. The people spent the cold winter months in permanent camps above the
valley to gather huckleberry while living off of preserved foods. In the spring, they fished for
salmon and smelt and harvested strawberries. In the summer, they hunted deer and elk, picked
blackberries, and harvested camas and wapato bulbs. Fall activities largely centered around the
harvest and use of basketry materials, but also included trading camas for other materials with
the Columbia River Trade Network. These foods were extremely important to the Kalapuya, not
only for their livelihood, but to their culture as well. Their reliance on the plants of the Valley
meant that they were very involved in the management of their environment. The Kalapuya
would do controlled burns to stimulate camas growth, roast grasshoppers, and push deer into
open grasslands where they were more easily hunted. These burns also stimulated the growth of
rushes, cattails, and other grasses, which were important for crafting baskets and clothing.
Finally, their participation in the Columbia River Trade Network meant that they traded goods
and knowledge with many other indigenous tribes.
Step 1: Introduction/Discussion Time: 15 minutes
❖ Talk about the importance of perspective and how humans’ perspective towards the Earth
have changed from when the Kalapuya were the dominant culture in the valley compared
to now.
➢ What mountain range are we in?
■ Cascades
➢ Whose land are we on?
■ Kalapuya and Molalla
➢ Do you know what their culture is like?
■ There is a connection to the natural world that is woven through their
culture
❖ Talk about the seasonal rounds that the Kalapuya lived by:
➢ Winter: Permanent camps, huckleberry gathering, preserved foods
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➢ Spring: Fished salmon, smelt, picked strawberries
➢ Summer: Harvested camas, wapato, hunted deer and elk, blackberry picking
➢ Fall: Traded camas, harvested materials and created baskets
❖ Connect how our lives today are still governed by natural cycles
➢ How do our day to day lives change with the change of the seasons?
➢ What do you do in the different seasons?
➢ Do you go to a different place in winter or summer?
➢ Allow the students to brainstorm as a group
Step 2: Art and Observation Activity Time: 15 minutes
❖ Start by asking:
➢ Q: What are ways that people can relate to the environment besides science?
➢ A: Guide them to arts and humanities
➢ Q: What is the root of both art and science?
➢ A: Guide them to observation
❖ Lead a hike from the yew grove to the road
❖ Have the students grab one object from the forest floor that interests them.
➢ Stress that they are not to pick or break anything that is living and growing
❖ Lead an “observation and question” circle, where each student makes an observation
about their object, and then asks a question.
➢ This is an engaged process; if people have answers or enjoy riffing off of one
another’s observations, let it happen!
❖ Using the thoughts and ideas the students came up with, have them write a poem about it
for five minutes
❖ Debrief: Does anyone want to share? I’ll go first!
Step 3: Sit Spot Time: 35 minutes
❖ Transition into sit spot; share directions:
➢ Native Americans weren’t the only peoples that created deep understanding
through observation.
➢ Anyone can be a scientist, you do not need expensive equipment, just your animal
senses
❖ Give instructions for sit spot:
➢ Everyone will take a sit spot square and I will place you along the trail far enough
away from your neighbor that you will not be distracted
➢ Sit quietly for 20 minutes and pay close attention to the smells and sights (and
even the feeling) of everything around you. Don’t forget to use your animal
senses to expand your awareness!
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➢ Pay particularly close attention to any signs of animal or plant life cycles (i.e.
buds, blooms, shoots etc.)
❖ Debrief Sit Spot: Ask students to discuss their experience and what they observed, using
the following questions. Ideally, students will volunteer on their own. If not, have
everyone say one thing that they experienced in the “outer world” (their surroundings)
and the “inner world” (themselves).
❖ Questions to ask during debrief:
➢ What did you see?
➢ Did you see any connections or interactions between different organisms?
➢ What did you hear/feel/smell?
➢ Why do you think we did this activity?
■ To show the value of observation in relation to discovering
interconnections and contributing to scientific understanding or TEK
➢ After a couple minutes, did you start to notice more than normal?
Step 4: Wrap Up / Reflection Activity Time: 10 minutes
❖ Highlight the importance of humanities within ecology
➢ Emphasis on writers who have published work from H. J. Andrews (D. Allen)
❖ Call on students to reflect on something inspiring/interesting their classmates said, wrote,
or drew
➢ Was there something one of your classmates shared that stood out to you?
➢ What is the value of nature writing?
■ To engage people emotionally with the natural world
Step 5: Questing Time: 5 minutes
❖ Establish that students will take turns being Riddler (who reads the clues) and Navigator
(who reads the map)
❖ Establish that only by working together will they be able to navigate the forest
❖ Give them the name of the station and assist them with interpretation
❖ While on the move, reinforce key species in the forest and have the students call out
when they find a particularly interesting specimen
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Additional Resources
“Kalapuyans: Seasonal Lifeways, TEK, Anthropocene.” NDNHISTORYRESEARCH , 21 Aug.
2017,
ndnhistoryresearch.com/2016/11/08/kalapuyansseasonallifewaystekanthropolocene/.
This reading provides additional information about the seasonal rounds of the Kalapuya.
It also gives more context to the traditional ecological knowledge that they implemented
in their subsistence, such as controlled burning.
“This Kalapuya Land.” Washington County Museum , 3 Mar. 2015,
www.washingtoncountymuseum.org/home/exhibits/kalapuya/.
This site offers context about the Kalapuyan language group and general cultural traits. It
also adds information about different subsistence methods. Useful for facilitating indepth
discussion about the lifeways of these people.
“The Kalapuya of the Upper Willamette Valley.” Neighbors and Nature Forum ,
neighbors.designcommunity.com/notes/1347.html.
This resource describes the traditions and practices of the eight tribes of the Kalapuya and
the Traditional Ecological Knowledge that allowed them to thrive. The local history of
this people allows students to connect with the place that they live and it’s diverse and
long history.
“The Molalla People of Clackamas County.” First People of Clackamas County Oregon: the
Molallas , www.usgennet.org/alhnorus/ahorclak/molallas.html.
This resource provides information about the Molalla people, the indigenous inhabitants
of the central Willamette Valley. It offers more information about indigenous people
outside of the Kalapuya language group, and insight into other parallel subsistence
strategies.
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Wrap Up the Andrews Experience
Developed by: Ned Maynard, Chelsea Sussman
Time: 15 minutes or less
Overview
During the wrap, students will analyze the temperature data collected throughout the day
displayed on the whiteboard graph from the tree climbing station. To conclude, all of the
members from each group will form a circle on the main lawn and state one thing they were
grateful for, thereby summarizing the day in context of what connections were formed.
Rationale
By doing a brief wrap that revisits some light science from the day, the facilitators will create a
lasting impression on the students. These last few minutes will cement the emotional connection
that was forged throughout the day through a conversation about gratitude. These moments
combined with the stickers and bookmarks will serve as a lasting reminder for the students that
science is easy and enjoyable, and that they are a part of a cycle that is much larger than
themselves. The facilitators will emphasize that the larger cycle doesn’t mean that the student’s
role is unimportant. On the contrary, it is the individual connections they make that will be of
utmost importance moving forward.
Background
The cumulative graph for the tree climb data will have four different colors on it, to represent the
four groups that participated in the Exploring New Heights station. This is designed so that the
students can visually compare the temperature differences throughout the day, and interpret them
in comparison to their hypotheses. In this way, it can be seen that science is an ongoing process.
Materials Needed
❏ All day tree temperature graph from the tree climbing station
❏ Stickers or bookmarks
❏ Student evaluation forms
❏ Teacher/Chaperone evaluation forms
❏ Pens and pencils
Activity Description
Step 1: Assessment of Program Efficacy Time: 7 minutes
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❖ Hand out surveys (one version for instructors and chaperones, one version for middle
school students)
❖ Give 5 minutes to fill out survey (under pavilion if it’s raining)
❖ Collect surveys, give out stickers or bookmarks
Step 3: Gratitude Wrap Time: 8 minutes
❖ Students and facilitators will circle up as one group
❖ Facilitators will express gratitude for participation
❖ Facilitators will show the tree height vs. temperature graph and lead a small discussion
❖ Facilitators will lead students in a shouted “Thank you!” to both the Pacific Tree
Climbing Institute and the H. J. Andrews Experimental Research Forest
❖ As students leave via bus, facilitators will wave goodbye
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