Students explore local heritage

The dairy, logging, and fishing heritage of Wahkiakum county has been a central focus of student learning recently. The River of Life and Burkhalter Dairy provided an extension to the classroom recently, connecting classroom curriculum to the world right outside their doors. This has made learning about heritage more interesting and relevant.

September 19, forty 4th and 5th grade students from the Julius A. Wendt Elementary School went on a field trip, utilizing resources in our own community to enhance their learning about what heritage is and how it influences our lives. Students first visited the River of Life Interpretive Center in Skamokawa where Pam Emery and Steve McClain greeted them. Their hosts shared the one room schoolhouse history, discussed local history, and gave students a view from the bell tower over the Columbia River. Learning about the impacts of the logging, fishing, and dairy industries was fascinating to students because it is something they can understand and connect with.

The special edition display of the local dairy history was made to set students up for their next stop on the trip. Students traveled to Grays River where they visited Burkhalter’s Dairy. They saw newborn calves and learned how robots milk the dairy herd. Students were fascinated with the level of technology found on the farm and enjoyed goodies provided by the dairy industry, courtesy of Burkhalter’s.

It was a wonderful opportunity for students to see the connection between the heritage of the area and how it impacts their lives today. Many students have roots to the dairy, logging and fishing industries and shared stories about their parents and grandparents.

The alignment of the heritage field trip with the reading unit on Heritage could not have had better timing. In addition, students learned about the importance of robots in modern day farming, which connects to their Lego Robotics program that is provided courtesy of WSU Wahkiakum Extension. Several classrooms participate in the Discover Dairy agriculture literacy program as well, extending the learning even further as students have already been exposed to the concepts throughout elementary school.

The students who attended would like to thank both the River of Life Interpretive Center and the Burkhalter’s Dairy for the generosity and commitment to our classrooms.