WRA students under a giant oak tree while on a field trip

Wisdom Ridge Academy students celebrated the end of the school year with a field trip to the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Because Wisdom Ridge students attend most of their classes online, the opportunity to spend time together in person is a welcome change. Their trip was an exciting chance to learn about and explore the rich natural beauty of the Refuge. 

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Refuge visitor services manager Josie Finley, volunteer coordinator Elena Tinoco, and interns Ellie Watts and Abbie Funk gathered the group at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse, a full-scale replica constructed on the historic site of a village of the Cathlapotle Nation. There, the students took part in a scavenger hunt to learn about Refuge wildlife and native plants. Tinoco instructed them in how to use watercolors to create lifelike images of the trees around them. 

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A short hike up the Carty Unit’s trail led students past many real-world learning opportunities. Finley showed them how to use their binoculars to find straight lines of holes in tree bark, a sign that sapsuckers were tapping the trees for fresh sap. Green apple-like growths they found hidden among branches were actually the eggs of tiny gall wasps, encased in a protective layer by the tree itself. 

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At a viewpoint by a massive 400-year-old oak tree, Finley showed how the tree was home to many creatures, from the owls nesting in its vast branches to the small fungus sheltered in its bark. The oak also shielded the students from a light rain, providing shelter as it had for many generations of humans and wildlife. Students climbed over roots to touch the shaggy tree bark and gazed up into its tall canopy at the raindrops filtering through.

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As the students headed back up the trail at the end of the day, an osprey soared overhead, surveying the lake below. Suddenly the osprey dived toward the water, grasping a small fish in its talons before climbing back into the sky. A few kids were lucky enough to see the catch and were elated. “Did you see that?” “That was incredible!” In an instant, the osprey had given students a firsthand view of how beautifully wildlife conservation, recreation, and education co-exist at the Refuge.

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Finley was glad to have schools returning to the Refuge with the lifting of COVID restrictions. “We’ve had such an amazing time reconnecting with Ridgefield families through our field trips this year,” she said. She hopes the students will keep coming back to the Refuge with their families, connecting with Ridgefield’s remarkable woodlands, wetlands, and wildlife.