By Alex Day, WNPF Marketing/Communications & Database Manager
The best part of the school year for many high school students is the opportunity to leave the walls of the classroom behind and attend a field trip somewhere new. And for the students at Darrington High School, “somewhere new” just might be right in their backyard.
I was fortunate to join 19 students from two classes – Environmental Literature and Botany – on a field trip made possible through the donor-supported Food Sustainability & Native Plant Education project at North Cascades National Park, along with project partners The Wilderness Society and Glacier Peak Institute. It was certainly a day to remember!
The students first arrived at Marblemount for an outdoors introduction to the park’s revegetation process in the native plant center – an outdoors nursery protected by a plant shade that was funded by WNPF donors. There, seeds that are collected throughout the park are planted and grown to seedlings, at which point park staff and volunteers can plant them in areas where native plants have been damaged or removed as part of their park-wide restoration efforts.
To kick off their day, Stacy and Becca, horticulturalists at North Cascades National Park, asked the students an icebreaker question: what’s your favorite or least favorite plant, and why? The answers ranged, but two candidates emerged as universally disliked: stinging nettle (urtica dioica, a plant known for its very irritating “stinging” hairs) and “stinky Bob” (Geranium robertianum or Herb Robert, an especially smelly invasive weed).
Though some plants might be irritating to encounter, the students were excited to learn from Stacy and Becca just how diverse the park around them really is – in fact, with more than 1,600 species of plants in the North Cascades, it is believed to be among the most biodiverse national parks.
They also learned about the human impact on plants, and how devastating it can be to native species. While it’s not easy to trample on a Douglas Fir, Heather and other subalpine plants are much easier to damage – a lesson the National Park Service shares with visitors young and old alike.
After the students had learned all about the plant diversity of the North Cascades, it was time to do some hands-on learning at the North Cascades Visitor Center in Newhalem. There, Ranger Katie Wood, Education Coordinator, divided the students into three groups that took turns on various activities in and around the visitor center and surrounding trails.
One group went on a short nature hike down the Sterling Munro Boardwalk, identifying native plants along the way before reaching the dramatic overview of the Picket Mountains. In just 300 feet, students discovered hemlock, western red cedar, and vine maple, a tree species that grows in avalanche chutes. The students were especially fascinated to learn about how trees can react to mistletoe, a parasite that grows in trees in the area, by compartmentalizing. This means that if a limb gets infected with mistletoe, the tree can choose to stop the limb from growing and reduce the damage.
Another group of students spent time exploring the interpretive exhibits in the Visitor Center, while the final group broke ground on one of the core goals of the Food Sustainability & Native Plant Education project: developing and planting an ethnobotanical garden outside of the Visitor Center. With the long-term goal of presenting visitors to the park with an immediate, up-close look at the diversity of native plants that grow within its boundaries, the garden’s early tasks include working on the plant bed, trimming overgrowth of the current plants, locating and placing small and medium-sized boulders and rocks to support the growth and display of creeping plants, and removal of unhealthy plants. The students were quick to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
The field trip ended with a conversation with Ranger Katie about what makes the North Cascades special – and worth protecting. For these students, who live so close to the park’s boundaries, Ranger Katie’s hope is that they leave the field trip having engaged with the park resources on a deeper level and with a better understanding of the close relationship between the park landscape and their home community.
“While they’re not inside the park boundary, they’re very much a part of this broader ecosystem,” Ranger Katie shared.
I hope that they took away how important it is to protect our plant resources, and I hope that they also come back to visit the ethnobotanical garden that they helped to begin the progress on today.
This five-year education project provides educational outdoor experiences, place-based learning, native plant education, and lessons on food sustainability and gratitude for what we have for about 160 youth participants each year. It is made possible through partnerships between the North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Lummi Nation, Lummi Natural Resources, Lummi Nation School, Sauk-Suiattle Tribe, Darrington School District, the Glacier Peak Institute, and others – along with the assistance of 2,000 to 3,500 volunteer hours.
Through the project, community partners and youth and volunteer participants will ultimately:
The Darrington High students’ field trip follows a fall field trip for Darrington’s elementary School students, where they had the chance to visit the park to learn about native plants and natural food systems while learning about the mission of the National Park Service and exploring the forest ecosystem through a scavenger hunt activity and hike centered around native plants and salmon spawning in the river.
With additional funding in future years, the park hopes to work with tribal partners to provide a paid internship opportunity to local native youth who will help deliver programs, collaborate with park partners, and continue developing the park’s native plant garden.
North Cascades National Park is eager to grow the Food Sustainability & Native Plant Education project and continue it for many years. In fact, the park is already fielding interest from other potential community partners who want to replicate the work for other local populations, and it’s generated national attention: North Cascades National Park was recently awarded the National Park Service’s 2021 Education Team Award for Interior Regions 8, 9, 10, and 12.
According to the National Park Service, “The NPS Education Awards are the highest recognition presented to a National Park Service individual or team for outstanding contributions to the profession of education.” These awards recognize innovation and adaptation within education program planning, development, and implementation. For those of us who have seen this project in action, it’s no surprise that it’s being recognized.
For Washington’s National Park Fund, providing for youth and family programs that create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to experience, learn to care for, and protect park resources is a top priority.
Projects like this one can grow to reach even more young people thanks to the generosity of WNPF donors. You can learn more about this impactful project in our Project Portfolio, and we hope you will be inspired to consider providing support so it can continue.