Restoration Ecology for Young Stewards (REYS)
REYS curriculum now available for download! All lessons developed by Cara Ianni at the Stilly-Snohomish Task Force, except where noted on the lesson plans. Below are the lessons, in the suggested order, and scroll down for more for information about REYS!
Concept Mapping
Watersheds
Watershed Student Worksheets:
— Snohomish Watershed Lesson Worksheet
— Snohomish Watershed Map Fill In
— Snohomish Watershed Map Rivers Bend
— Stilly Watershed Lesson Worksheet
— Stilly Watershed Map Fill In
— Stilly Watershed Map Rivers Bend
Watershed Tour (field trip)
Watershed Tour Worksheet
Salmon (partial lesson credit: Snohomish County Surface Water Management)
Salmon Information
Salmon Pictures by Species
Salmon Lesson Student Worksheet
Plants as a System
Plants as a System Worksheet
How do trees affect erosion? A controlled investigation
How do trees affect erosion? A controlled investigation (Answer Key)
How do trees affect erosion? Student Worksheet
Native Plants (lesson credit: Snohomish County Surface Water Management)
Native Plants Student Worksheet
Native Plants Student Guidebook
Exploring testable questions and choosing a research topic
Exploring testable questions and choosing a research topic – example worksheet (answer key)
Exploring testable questions and choosing a research topic - student worksheet
Designing Your Experiment (adapted from Cornell University's Watershed Dynamics Curriculum)
Designing Your Experiment Student Worksheet (elementary)
Designing Your Experiment Student Worksheet (secondary)
Designing Your Experiment Peer Review Form (adapted from Cornell University's Watershed Dynamics Curriculum)
Sorting it Out: Using and Creating Keys
Key to Life in a River (from University of Wisconsin-Extension)
Sorting it Out: Using and Creating Keys - Student Worksheet for macroinvertebrates
Sorting it Out: Using and Creating Keys - Student Worksheet for plants
Sorting it Out: Using and Creating Keys - Example Student Work for plants
Student-designed interpretive signs – lesson plan
Student-designed interpretive signs - examples
The Task Force’s Restoration Ecology for Young Stewards (REYS) program is a project- and inquiry-based curriculum (7-8 classroom lessons and 1-2 fieldtrips) that actively teaches youth in grades 5-8 about the ecology of the Puget Sound. The goal of REYS is to promote environmental stewardship by enhancing critical thinking skills and drawing specific links between human actions and their ecological impacts on the Puget Sound watersheds. Students will learn about riparian ecosystems, watershed dynamics, water quality, non-point source pollution, and salmon, and then apply their knowledge to design and implement a salmon habitat restoration project that they will actually implement in the field. Throughout this process, students will wear the many hats associated with conservation biology and engage in activities performed by “real” scientists, such as authentic investigations and peer review.
In REYS, students perform three projects: 1) designing and implementing a salmon habitat restoration project (riparian tree planting); 2) creating and conducting a research project to support their restoration efforts (e.g. research on water quality or invasive plants); and 3) designing an interpretive sign for their restoration site. To prepare for these projects, REYS implements modern teaching techniques, such as hands-on activities and inquiry-based methods, to improve student learning.
Since 2004, REYS has involved over 1,200 students from the Arlington, Lakewood, Marysville, Snohomish and Snoqualmie School Districts. For the 2009/10 school year, five classrooms from English Crossing Elementary in the Lakewood School District, and five classrooms from Snoqualmie Middle School, will participate in REYS.
Funding for REYS has been provided from the Washington State Department of Ecology, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Anne and Mary Arts and Environmental Education Fund, and the Puget Sound Anglers Sno-King Chapter. Partnering organizations include Snohomish County, King County, Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, City of Marysville, and Snohomish Conservation District.
Through the REYS program, we expect students to develop the critical thinking skills required of an engaged and productive citizenry. And best of all, as both the kids and the trees they planted grow taller, students can return to their restoration to see their plan of cleaner water, better habitat and erosion control, and greener spaces come to fruition.