Cybil-Madeline park project teaches kids about conservation, helps city

Published 1:46 pm Thursday, April 14, 2011

“Is this one picture worthy?” asked a middle-school girl, holding up thick blackberry root dug up from the side of the creek, “How about this one?”

Root by root the kids of Vista Academy continued an effort April 13 to restore parts of Cybil-Madeline Park by cutting away invasive plants.

While the effort was a welcome site for the city, which has plans to develop the old farmlands into a downtown park, it’s also an opportunity for conservationists to teach kids the importance of natural areas.

Changing a community’s behavior and garnering support starts with educating children, said Margaret Ullman, volunteer program manager for Mountains to Sound Greenway. “They’re the future.”

Ask a Vista middle schooler why they spent the morning pulling ivy from the ground, and they’ll likely respond with an explanation about how invasive plants choke out natural ones, which help filter streams and create breeding grounds for fish.

Science teacher Mike Montgomery started the service projects four years ago with the new middle school. His idea to partner with MTS fell in line with the schools focus on getting kids out of the classroom.

MTS and Montgomery have curriculum that ties into the field trips, such as lessons in how to design water quality tests, but much of the learning is experiential.

Learning in the field has more impact than studying books, he said. “They’ve seen it. They’ve moved it. They’ve touched it.”

Not all of the lessons learned are necessarily tied to curriculum.

Near Issaquah Creek, Montgomery picked up a beetle, and began explaining different aspects of it. Students took turns holding it, while others continued to dig at stubborn blackberry bushes.

“It’s fun to see how big we can get the debris piles,” said eighth-grader Justin Lee.

When asked what he had learned through the field tips, sixth-grader George Eller pointed to a pile of dung beneath some leaves.

“I learned that’s bear poo,” he said with a smile, before explaining what invasive plants are.

For the school, a big focus on the projects is also volunteering.

Issaquah relies heavily on volunteer groups to help cleanup the parks, said Matt Mechler, the city’s only open-space steward.

A few years ago, Cybil-Madeline’s creek line was really bad, he said, pointing to dead ivy vines attached to dogwood trees and spots once overrun with blackberry bushes.

“It’s incredible to see the progress,” Ullman said.

Mountains to Sound hosts several projects throughout the city, totaling roughly 4,000 man hours throughout the year, Mechler said.

Justin Lee, left, and Elise Groh from Vista Academy pull out ivy at Cybil-Madeline Park in downtown Issaquah. The service project came with an emphasis on learning about conservation. CELESTE GRACEY/Issaquah Reporter

Holden Riley, left, and Noah Funk, both middle schoolers at Vista Academy, spent the morning with their classmates pulling ivy and blackberry bushes at Cybil-Madeline Park. The project taught them about conservation and the local habitat. CELESTE GRACEY/Issaquah Reporter