Education

Mid-Columbia Fisheries work involves volunteers and community members in salmon recovery.

We believe hands-on opportunities help foster the commitment needed to sustain wild salmonid populations in eastern Washington.

School Programs

Mid-Columbia Fisheries is working with more than twenty school districts throughout the region to provide hands-on salmon and watershed experiences. Through in-class lessons and field trips, we increase students understanding of the interconnections of salmon, watersheds, oceans, and climate change. Mid-Columbia Fisheries engages students in hands-on watershed monitoring and restoration activities fostering the sense that each individual can make a difference.

Funding for Mid-Columbia Fisheries' education work is supported by grants.

Salmon in the Classroom

Several schools participate in rearing salmon in a classroom aquarium in conjunction with a science curriculum focused on the salmon life cycle, watersheds, habitat, oceans and climate change. When salmon reach the fry stage, students participate in a field trip to release their salmon and learn about the local ecosystem and how it connects to the larger environment.

Watershed Connections

Mid-Columbia Fisheries' Watershed Connections programs are tailored to the needs of individual schools. The program connects local watershed issues and salmon recovery to science, and includes in-class lessons and field trips. The program enforces science concepts aligned with the federal next generation science standards. The program supports teachers and students in designing small research projects and collecting data. Students learn about salmon recovery, ocean acidification, nutrient cycling, food web, climate change, and human impacts. Field activities include planting trees, surveying vegetation, testing water quality, and sampling macro-invertebrates.

Careers in Conservation

The Careers in Conservation Summer Program is aimed to expose students to environmental field work, professional networking, and project development in the Yakima Basin. Throughout the 6-week program, students learned to design, budget, and present a proposal for a restoration project focused on salmon habitat restoration.

During the summer of 2023, student participants had the opportunity to gain a myriad of field experiences. These included learning techniques for data collection, using and become familiar with technology used in the field, and by working directly with staff to get a hands-on stewardship experience. Now parterning with the Yakima Valley Technical College (YV-Tech), and with the support of funding from a Washington Recreation and Conservation Office's Outdoor Learning Grant, in 2024 we will add an OSPI approved Year-Two Curricula and increase the enrollment to 16 students. More information can be found in the 2024 CICSP Flyer. 2024 CICSP Flyer

Workstudy

Central Washington University Work Study students assist with a variety of projects, including in-class lessons, volunteer events, outreach, project stewardship, and much more. To find out about more opportunites for work study, email us at [email protected]

“Being a work study student at Mid-Columbia Fisheries has been a fun and eye opening experience. Doing a variety of meaningful tasks for the organization has not only shown me all the good things conservation groups do, but also helped me find the direction I want to go after school.”

- Justin Finkbeiner

Left to Right: CWU Work Study-Justin Finkbeiner, MCF Education and Riparian Coordinator-Tori Wood, 2022 WCC Indiviual Placement-Emily Burkhart

Interested in our Education Program?

Email our Education Coordinator, Tori Wood at [email protected]