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Photo by Bob Pennell Ashland teachers (from left) Martha Wilhelm of Briscoe Elementary School, Glenda Rost of Ashland High School and Debi Blair of Briscoe measure rocks from Bear Creek on Monday. Teachers spent the day at North Mountain Park as part of a workshop to teach them about geology, history and plants of the area. Park holds lessons for teachers Ashland workshop yields ideas for outdoor science projects By DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- About two dozen teachers began preparing their fall lessons Monday by strapping on hip waders, jumping into Bear Creek and picking up pebbles. "It's great," said Melody Noraas, a science teacher at Ashland Middle School after she dropped her biggest rock back into the water, splashing another teacher. "Teachers getting to be kids is always a winner." She and a line of several other teachers were assigned to pick up stones from the river bottom to measure their size as part of a survey being done by the U.S. Forest Service. The size of the stones in the water is one factor in whether the river's bed provides a healthy spawning ground for fish. The teachers are participating in a weeklong workshop organized by the Ashland Parks Environmental Stewardship Program and paid for by a grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust. They are learning about the geology, history and plants of the area and in turn developing teaching projects for children. "This gives the teachers the opportunity to learn from experts what resources they have here," explained Linda Chesney of the parks department. "And then in the afternoon they all go back into the park department and develop special projects kids can do. "We give something to the teachers and they give us something back." A kingfisher squawked overhead as teachers plucked ripe blackberries from vines and listened to a biologist and a representative of the Forest Service explain what is being done to restore a portion of North Mountain Park to its natural state. They asked technical questions about the restoration and talked among themselves about the ramifications. Middle school teacher Susan Frey said the lessons she was learning Monday fit right in with the sixth-grade curriculum of earth studies and ecology. "I'm hoping to get my kids up here every few weeks," she said. "We hope to have the kids adopt a personal plot and map it out, keep a journal about it and watch it change over the year." As Matt Damon-Tollenaere pulled his hip waders on, getting ready to do some surveying of the creek, he noted that outdoor learning can help some kids excel in school. He was excited the park was only walking distance from his classroom and planned to visit it often. "There are some kids who are bright and curious, but the classroom doesn't work for their learning style," said the third-grade teacher. "You might have problems with them in the classroom, but you get them outside ... and they gain a lot of confidence. "It's a place where some kids just thrive." Noraas said she gave up some summer reading and visiting with grandchildren to be involved with the weeklong workshop. She said she was already planning interesting outdoor activities for her students. "I'm going back to teaching science after teaching second grade for a couple years," she said. "This gives me a chance to get real excited about some great ways to start out the school year." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA