Concerned residents near Meridian Park wetland have long wondered "Where have all of the frogs and salamanders from the wetland gone?” In response, Andy Loch, Water Quality Specialist of the City of Shoreline, decided to investigate and recruited Meridian Park Elementary School students to help solve this mystery and answer other questions about the wetland.

This unique partnership will benefit the City of Shoreline with useful data, while giving the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th grade students in the classrooms of Jean Phelan, Matt Reiman, Lisa Sezate, and Wendy Borton the opportunity to apply what they learn in their science units to their local wetland.

Students will assist Andy in data collection of water levels, water quality, native and non-native plants, and other characteristics of the wetlands environment. Kudos to all involved, as Andy, Jean, Matt, Lisa, Wendy and the Thornton Creek Project have all worked hard to make this happen

It’s no secret that the success of the Thornton Creek Project relies on the enthusiasm and energy of our many volunteers, and TCP wants to thank you all! In addition to the people who serve on our Project committees, last fall at least 11 students and community members (see below) donated over 150 hours to the Project!

These energetic people helped with field trips, research, website updates and development, accounting, office work, and advising committees. We couldn't have done it without you!

One volunteer who exemplifies the spirit and commitment of all our volunteers is Shirley Wu. Originally from Taiwan, Shirley is a student in the ESL program at NSCC. Last quarter she volunteered four hours a week so that she could learn more English, but we learned a lot from her (including some Chinese)! Shirley's cheerfulness and reliability were inspiring even on the darkest, rainiest days. Thank you Shirley for all you have done for the Thornton Creek Project!

Staff
Director - Meredith Lohr
Technology and Communications Coordinator - Emily Inkpen
Program Developer - Peter Hayes
Schools Coordinator - Pete Lortz

View the website and new maps at: www.thorntoncreek.org

Back on a dark November morning, TCP’s intrepid Stewards Council gathered at NSCC for their annual breakfast meeting. Led by Co-chairs Scott Haskins of Seattle Public Utilities and Elaine Woo of Seattle Public Schools, the Council celebrated the educational accomplishments of the past year, learned about new initiatives, and discussed organizational development and support. 

Highlights of the meeting included a presentation from John Rogers elementary school students on their experiences in the watershed, enthusiastic words of support from new NSCC President Ron Lafayette, and a thought-provoking talk on TCP’s strategic issues by Steerers’ Board Chair Richard Gelb. This winter the Stewards will be asked to provide input to TCP's strategic plan, and the group will reconvene this springto bless the new plan and discuss financial support for the ‘02-‘03 academic year.

Since last spring, TCP has been helping develop a partnership between the Seattle School District’s (SSD) Inquiry-based Science Program and the Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) education team.Through facilitating meetings and focus groups, and sharing educational activities, TCP is assisting the school districtand SPU as they strengthen educational approaches to promoting environmental stewardship.

The goal of both SPU and SSD is to ‘do less and do it better’. This partnership has already yielded exciting results. For example, the popular Salmon in the Classroom program, now called Salmon in the Schools, will be available to every public elementary school in the district, will include inquiry-based field trips to local streams, and will be seamlessly integrated with district-wide curricula to address academic standards. As well as improving the salmon program, SPU is collaborating with SSD to support the schools in other ways; plans for kindergarten through third grades and middle school will begin this spring.

The Thornton Creek Project is fortunate to participate in this city-wide educational reform, and about all of the new and improved resources available to students throughout Seattle.

Students from nine different Seattle Public School fifth grade classes studied Thornton Creek as part of their Land and Water science unit this fall. Guided by TCP staff and enthusiastic students from the UW’s Science Service Learning Program, young scientists from John Rogers, Rainier View, John Stanford and Kimball ElementarySchools visited the stream near Nathan Hale High School and explored neighboring Meadowbrook Pond. In the Land and Water unit, which is part of the fifth grade curriculum in Seattle schools, students create models of streams and study how water interacts with earth materials.

TCP leads inquiry-based field trips that reinforce the skills and concepts addressed in this science unit and help students understand relationships between people and stream ecosystems. The students from John Stanford have even created a power point presentation of their field trip experience! Look for that report on the TCP website soon.

A student explores Thornton Creek
on a Land and Water field trip

Ole Lowell and his son pose by Lowell and Blindheim's company's cart.

Solve the mystery: What business did Blindheim and Lowell own? Where was their business originally located? Where is it now?

Clue 1: Within the Thornton Creek watershed

The Thornton Creek Project makes a difference, and so can you! The Project's success depends on the efforts of community-minded people, and now is an excellent time to get involved. We have a variety of interesting opportunities for volunteers, and we welcome in-kind and financial contributions.

For more information, please call our office at 206.526.0187. Your support will help ensure that our students become informed and responsible community members, prepared to meet the challenges of the future.

Soon students in the watershed and around Seattle will be mapping their neighborhoods and around their schools to answer questions like, "What makes our community 'green'?" and, "How can we contribute to the health of our community?"

These maps will be part of the Seattle Green Map initiative to map the 'green' areas and features of our communities. Green Maps use the Green Map System^©, which has been employed all over the world, to provide the community with a visual display of our important natural and cultural spaces. TCP will be working with interested schools to make Youth Green Maps of areas around their schools, eventually developing a watershed-wide Youth Green Map.

How many students and teachers notice that they are surrounded by clues to the long, fascinating, and poorly understood history of their home community? How about that old, monstrous cedar stump, or the “Star Sutherland” American Legion Post, or the rusty valve from the long gone sewage treatment plant, or the historic farm house which overlooks a field of athletes instead of fields filled with crops? What stories do they tell? In cooperation with local history teachers and the Shoreline Historical Museum, the Thornton Creek Project is developing a curricular approach using many forms of historical clues to integrate the local into standard history courses.

Those who would like to learn more or to be involved are encouraged to contact the Project office T 206.526.0187, for more information.

Is it comforting or disconcerting to know that we are never alone? We are always surrounded by communities of life that are either invisible to our eyes or very hard to see. To encourage and support teachers and students in investigating and reporting on these ever present communities and specifically to enrich learning in the Microworlds inquiry-based science unit, TCP is developing, testing, and refining a new “Tiny Neighbors” investigation program.Though the initial focus is on the interdependent ecology of pond life, the approach may be adapted for investigation of many other micro ecosystems – insects, mosses, lichens, etc.