December 8th, 2011
Encountering Horticulture: Yesterday and Today
This was the fifth of six Saturday Science Academy (SSA) events to be hosted by the Science Program of Northwest Indian College (NWIC) for the Fall Quarter 2011. While the morning was cold and frosty students braved the morning air for an outdoor welcome and game-time. The students were quick and ready to start moving in a quick few rounds of “Steal-the-Bacon.” The game helped warm up the limbs and the mind with quick grabs at the dodge-ball in the middle of the two teams and creative moves to maneuver back to the team with the prized “bacon”. Once back inside, the youth were introduced to the days topic of “Food Harvesting and Horticulture.” I engaged students in a discussion of imagination where they had to compare contemporary supermarkets and stores with the traditional gathering methods of their ancestors. I would introduce an herb, shrub or tree commonly found in this region and used by native peoples and the students had to think of the contemporary equivalent found in the supermarket. For example, the tall Black Cottonwood has an inner sappy wood that contains elements of anti-inflammatory compounds used by native peoples to relieve headaches, back pain and arthritis. Students had to then respond with the contemporary food or medicinal equivalent such as Alieve or Tylenol.
Once I had finished with the sequence of plant slides, the students were split up into teams of 3-4 and given excerpts from the book: Wild Rose and Western Redcedar: the gifts of the Northwest plants. Using these excerpts about individual plants, each team would read together the literature and become “experts” on that plant. They would take a picture of the plant and a marker and develop a poster board presentation of what they discovered. After a half hour of reading, discussing and writing, each team took a turn to present their plant and the unique value it had with native peoples. Individuals would describe where the plant could be found, which parts of the plant were used, how the parts were used, and finally, share any further information they thought was interesting about the plant. In this way, each individual, team and the group as a whole would become quite knowledgeable about these wonderful plants and they usefulness they had for the native peoples of the Pacific Northwest.
Following the final presentation, students loaded up into a van for a hike through the nearby Smuggler’s Slough. Along the hike, students were able to tangible see, touch and feel the plants they had learned about on paper now in the wild. The hike also included instruction on habitat ecology and the value of these plants to wildlife such as birds, salmon and forage mammals. After the hike the students bustled back indoors for a warm lunch and catch their breath before the afternoon outing.
In the afternoon students were back in the vans and off to the BelleWood Acres Apple Orchard to tour a farm where modern practices in horticulture were present and productive. Once at the farm, the students were given blankets and ushered 4 to a golf cart for a tour of the rows of apple trees and the large farmstead barns. Dori, wife and co-owner of the farm quickly introduced the students to the many different varieties of apples, the process for raising them and the unique methods for keeping them warm during the frost autumn and late winter. The students quickly moved through the farm with raised hands and questions and eventually a stop by the Ten Mile Creek which bordered the farm. Here they learned of the importance of maintaining a good agricultural relationship with the stream habitat so that both the wildlife using the stream and the apple trees using the water are productive. Finally, students raced ahead to the apple cider pressing room and the taste-testing site to try some of the rich and sweet treats produced on the farm. The day ended with smiles on a short ride home and an excited fervor for everything apple- like apple pie. Yum!