Glacier View field trip packs in learning

PALMER — An unlikely combination of fisheries, the legal process and agriculture gave 44 Glacier View School students in grades one through 12 a variety of experiences during a recent field trip.

Ninth- through 12th-grade students observed the Carl the Cat court case in Palmer Superior Court and had the privilege to meet at length with Judge Eric Smith, presiding over the case. The high school students, enrolled in a law-related studies course taught by history teacher Mark Owen, learned about job opportunities in the field of law and the legal process.

Meanwhile, first- through eighth-grade students began their field trip at Spring Creek, where Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials taught them about the life cycle of Alaska salmon. Students saw how salmon eggs are fertilized.

Third- through fifth-grade students will monitor some of the eggs’ growth in a large fish tank at their school. Garth Morgan, the Glacier View science teacher, tested the water temperature and oxygen levels of Spring Creek with his junior high students to ensure the classroom tank environment matches that of the creek.

VanderWeele Farms, the third stop on the field trip for the elementary and junior high students, was equally relevant to Alaska Studies, said Jodi Talcott, who is teaching grades three through five. Alaska Agriculture in the Classroom, which promotes agricultural literacy in students statewide, organized the stop.

Michelle VanderWeele Keyes led students through the fields, explaining how she and her family grow potatoes. Students watched the potato harvesting process as Keyes’ father and brother drove the harvester and a loading truck through the field nearby.

“Students were impressed to see so many potatoes move up the conveyer belts into the huge trucks,” Talcott said.

When Keyes gave each student a plastic bag to collect potatoes scattered around the field, the frenzy began. Students loaded their bags to the top with soil-flecked potatoes, with some stashing the overflow into pockets and coat hoods.

A pair of brothers said they were taking the potatoes home so their dad could make French fries. Others were holding out for baked or fried potatoes.

Slogging through the damp dirt and rummaging through the cold ground for potatoes far from dampened the students’ spirits about agriculture or the field trip.

“This is the best field trip ever,” said fifth-grader Leah Lemieux.