Sixth graders in Williams got a taste for science recently when they took part in the first annual science camp excursion, offered in partnership with the Williams Unified School District (WUSD), the Williams Alliance and the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest. Williams Elementary-Middle School (WEMS) students, under the supervision of sixth grade teachers Karyn White and Kristine Williams, took part in the two-day trip April 22-23 and learned about archaeology, forest fires and wildlife among a number of other topics.
"We thought what would be fun was to set up stations at the Williams Ranger District," said Kaibab National Forest Public Relations officer Jackie Denk. "We tried to make it very interactive and fun and at the same time, helping the kids to have a conservation ethic. The next day we actually took them out fishing and we had the Arizona Game and Fish Department come out and they talked to the kids about aquatic ecosystems. Following that we took them out to Keyhole Sink and they got to study a number of petroglyphs. Overall I think it was very fun and very educational and we are really looking forward to participating in science camp every year."
Besides their involvement with the science camp, Denk said Forest Service officials also plan to become involved in other local youth programs this summer. Forest personnel will offer a number of programs and host field trips for the summer SOAR program. A number of middle school students attended an educational program at the Williams Ranger District May 12 as well.
"We think it's really important to help kids learn about the forest when they're young, so that when they grow up they will help appreciate and help to protect them," Denk said.
The camp was made possible thanks to a grant from the Williams Alliance, according to Alliance representative Patricia Helgeson.
"Creating that science camp was an opportunity for us to do something else for our students and our schools that we felt would be beneficial," Helgeson said. "We did not know when we started out who was going to be a part of this. When we made the decision to make it sixth grade students, we started from that point. Because we knew that it was going to be science-based, we knew that we wanted it to be focused on science, but also to be hands on for the kids and for it to provide experiential learning for them.
With that in mind we started doing some research and it really didn't take long to realize we wanted to work with Kaibab National Forest. Through a communication we had with them we realized that they were definitely agreeable to doing something with us. The thing that I really appreciate about the collaboration that we had with Kaibab National Forest, and I really want to stress how thankful we are for their support and for everything that they did, because they basically gave us two full days of programming. While we were in their facilities or in their area, none of the school personnel, the teachers or myself, none of them had to worry about what was going to happen. They took care of all the curriculum; they took care of all the planning. They knew what they were going to present. That was really nice for us."
Students stayed overnight at Camp Civitan in Williams. During the evening, Helgeson said she provided a number of activities for the children, including drug and alcohol prevention programs, which is part of the Williams Alliance's mandate in collaboration with the National Guard's Drug Demand Reduction program. Students also participated in a non-smoking demonstration put on by the Coconino County Health Department and a nutrition program put on by the Safe Routes to School program.
Helgeson said she hopes to provide future science camps for sixth graders next year.
"We want to do it as an ongoing activity every year, for sixth graders every year. Actually the sixth graders asked us if we could do it again next year for seventh graders," Helgeson said, adding that a number of community members also came out in support of the camp, including Jack Hadley, Nathan Laatz, Louise Clemmer, Wendy Jacks, Bud Parenteau, Angel Atencio and Pimi Bennett and Sue Atkinson of the Williams-Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce. Science camp T-shirts and caps were provided by support from the WEMS Parent-Teacher Association, WEMS Site Council and the Coconino Coalition for Children and Youth.
