PORT ANGELES — As the beaches at the mouth of the Elwha River grow larger with river-borne sand and sediment, a group of local students is setting out to explore them — and not just for fun, though there may be some of that.
Recently, a cadre of 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade students at the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center welcomed a group from the Seattle Waldorf School to their turf, as it were: the stretch of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary where the river flows into the sea.
There, the teenagers worked with skills center instructor Dan Lieberman to conduct a survey of the beach’s birds, sediment and marine debris.
This work is part of Lieberman’s Natural Resources Options courses at the skills center, courses in which he and his students explore not only the diversity of the natural world but also the job opportunities in it.
These are changing times ecologically in the wake of the Elwha River restoration.
As the undammed Elwha brings sediment and debris down to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the beachcombing students are liaisons between the local ecosystem and public officials.
Report findings
They report on their findings to the National Marine Sanctuary, to Washington Sea Grant researcher Ian Miller and to COASST, the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team at the University of Washington.
The students’ sediment data reflect how the Elwha ecosystem is evolving after dam removal, while the marine debris surveys help environmental groups plan targeted cleanups, Lieberman said.
The beached bird data provides a baseline of “normal” in case of an oil spill or other marine disaster, he added.
“The most satisfying part of doing these surveys is giving data back to the community and cleaning the beaches,” said Natural Resources Options student Nathan Schaeffer.
Last month, the skills center students served as mentors to their Seattle counterparts, teaching them how to collect data and make scientific reports.
The Port Angeles-based students will go back out to the Elwha mouth in December for more surveying.
Enrollment open
Meantime, Lieberman noted that enrollment is open for next semester’s Natural Resources Options classes in Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks.
Information can be found on the skills center website, www.nopsc.org, or by emailing Lieberman at dlieberman@portangelesschools.org.
As the beach grows outward into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it’s becoming difficult to survey the entire area, so “we would certainly benefit from more students and adult volunteers to help,” Lieberman said, adding that one student’s grandmother, Londi Colton, volunteers with the team.
“We need to take care of the ocean and let the community know what is going on,” student Aiden Broadfoot said of the beach survey work.
He added that he wants to spread the word about the National Marine Sanctuary, which has its office in Port Angeles, and about the problem of marine debris.
Seeing the effects of the Elwha River restoration is no minor thing for this teacher and his students.
“It is really satisfying,” Lieberman said, “to become part of something larger than ourselves.”
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
