Page 56 - Flathead Beacon // 4.22.15

56 | APRIL 22, 2015
OUTDOORS
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
MOVING THE CLASSROOM OUTSIDE
THE GLACIER INSTITUTE GEARS UP FOR ANOTHER SEASON OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION IN THE CROWN OF THE CONTINENT
ABOVE: Glacier Institute instructor Davey Gordon teaches students about aquatic insects at the Glacier Institute at Big Creek.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
near the Apgar Corral. Last year, the In- stitute received a $36,000 grant from the Montana Department of Tourism to re- store three cabins and make them handi- cap accessible.
While some classes take place exclu- sively at the Big Creek Ranger Station, others have the opportunity to venture deep into the park. Introducing children to the wonders of the national park right next door is one of the driving goals of the Institute.
“I hope every young adult in the Flathead Valley has the opportunity to visit Glacier National Park,” Barth said. “It’s so rewarding to bring a stu- dent to the park for the first time be- cause it has such a profound and last- ing impact on them.”
The Glacier Institute has a wide vari- ety of public courses available now until September. For more information, visit www.glacierinstitute.org.
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BIG CREEK – Under a pristine blue sky, Davey Gordon gathered a group of middle school students from Columbia Falls in a circle and talked about benthic macro invertebrates, better known as bugs.
After using a marker board to draw out the types of bugs the students would soon see, Gordon handed out waders that were about two sizes too big on the children. After the kids put on the waders, and lifejackets just to be safe, Gordon led the kids down to the edge of Big Creek.
“Don’t fall in and no shrieking,” he told them, as he led them into the water with nets to find examples of the bugs they just learned about.
For most students, the stonefly is an insect that only lives in their textbooks back at school. But thanks to the Glacier Institute, the tiny bug is now something these kids have seen with their own eyes and touched with their own hands.
Since 1983, the Glacier Institute has offered outdoor education courses to stu-
dents of all ages either at its field camp in West Glacier or the Big Creek Outdoor Education Center along the North Fork of the Flathead River.
“Our mission has always been the same. We want to foster an understanding and appreciation of the outdoors through education,” said Director of Education Justin Barth. “We take what the students learn in a classroom and give them a more hands-on perspective.”
Barth said he was one of the those cu- rious students himself more than a de- cade ago when he went to Big Creek for a field trip in the sixth grade. Every spring and fall, the Glacier Institute hosts stu- dents from around the valley and the state. On this particular day, students moved between different demonstrations about fish, bugs and birds.
During the summer, the Institute offers numerous courses to the public around the region. In June, there will be talks about wolves in the North Fork and
summer mushrooms. In July, instructors will lead tours about the natural history of the Cutbank Valley and nature photog- raphy. And in August there will be field trips about fire lookouts and fly-fishing for beginners. The courses can last any- where from a few hours to a couple of days.
The Glacier Institute began hosting classes at Big Creek in 1988 and in that time 29,000 students have participated. Last year, the Big Creek Ranger Station site was added to the National Historic Registry. Improvements were also made to a classroom at Big Creek last year, with the help of a Boy Scout troop from Penn- sylvania. Barth said the classroom now has heat, which is handy during the early spring and late fall.
“It was hard for the kids to under- stand the scientific method when they couldn’t feel their fingers,” he joked.
Improvements have also been made to the West Glacier facility, which is located
BY JUSTIN FRANZ