NCSD Stories

Stories is a monthly digital publication for all North Clackamas School District families, staff, and community members. Sharing our own stories and listening to the stories of others are simple yet powerful acts that can help bridge distance and difference, and unite people around a common purpose. By focusing on our classrooms, colleagues, and community, our goal is to showcase the outstanding students, staff, and community members that make North Clackamas such an amazing place to live, work, and learn.  Have a story you’d like to see us cover? Email your idea to stories@nclack.k12.or.us!

Science In Real Time - Students Participate in Kellogg Creek Restoration Project

Behind Milwaukie Presbyterian Church on Southeast Lake Road in Milwaukie, you will find a beautiful outdoor sanctuary… a 4.2 acre wetland complete with a walking trail and home to a variety of native plants and other species. 

And throughout this past spring, it’s also been an outdoor classroom for many NCSD middle and high school students, who are working with groups from the Kellogg Creek Restoration & Community Enhancement Project and Portland State University (PSU) to make sure the entire Kellogg Creek area continues to thrive. 

Milwaukie High School junior biology students are getting hands-on experience during their class visits to the creek to help survey the area. During the survey, students tallied and identified the different species they could find to make sure native plants and animals are thriving. 

 “It’s so nice to have these partnerships so students can have real-world experience in science,” said Biology teacher Nicole Matthews.

While this seems like just a class assignment, the data these savvy science students collect will help support the larger effort to restore Kellogg Creek’s habitat. According to Peyton Priestman, Community Engagement Coordinator for the Kellogg Creek Restoration & Community Enhancement Project, the goal of the project includes long-term restoration of the Kellogg Creek area and creating a fish passage. 

“There's been a lot of restoration efforts over the last 30 years, but there wasn't a lot of good science before the restoration. And so although we think [what’s been done in the past] is a really good idea, it's important to understand the impacts of it,” said Brian Weir, a Portland State University student helping with the project.

The restoration project isn’t limited to high school helpers, as Rowe Middle School students are getting their feet wet as well-- literally. Eighth graders in Dylan Richmond’s class worked on surveying the creek at a different location near campus. Classes were split into teams of three to five students, and one brave volunteer from each team had the opportunity to wade into the creek…with water protective gear of course.. to gather samples.

Rowe classmates Siena Janusz, Brooklynn Clardy, and Maddie Brubaker said this is the first time their class has come down to the area to collect data. They found a ton of different wildlife to identify, including some snails.

There is still a lot more to come for this large project. Priestman said both the middle and high school students will continue to help with surveys this fall. 

 You can find more information about the Kellogg Restoration and Community Enhancement Project here.