Our trip tomorrow to Oceanside is based on a fantastic true story of the actions two naturalists took in the early 1900s. William Finley and Herman Bohlman were two young scientists who met as boys while bird watching in Portland, Oregon. While in Oceanside, the two young naturalists witnessed many people on boats going past the Three Arch Rocks, using the sea lions and shore birds as targets for target practice. Day after day, boats would come by and shoot hundreds of animals, leaving them behind. William and Herman realized that if the animals were getting killed at this rate, there soon wouldn't be any left. They decided to take a 14 foot boat to to the large rocks to photograph the birds and wildlife, hoping that they could teach others about the animals and help save them. After an amazing adventure of getting themselves and their delicate camera equipment to the cliffs on the rocks, William and Herman were finally able to take many photographs of the coast animals. Months later, they traveled from Oregon to Washington D.C. to meet with Theodore Roosevelt and showed him their photographs and explained what was happening on the Oregon coast. President Roosevelt was convinced by these two young naturalist to make Three Arch Rocks a National Wildlife Refuge. It was the United State's third sanctuary and the first ever on the west coast. It offers protection to thirteen species of birds and three species of seals and sea lions.
Tomorrow we'll be able to enjoy and learn about the animals that these two young scientists risked their lives to help many years ago! Students learn throughout their time at FGCS that ecosystems are connected and the life within them is interdependent, which includes people. Tomorrow the Barn Swallow students will not only see the Three Arch Rocks where a healthy ecosystem exists, but will also learn more about the life close at hand, thriving in the many tide pools on the shore of Oceanside. Students will choose one or two tide pool creatures that they observed and will be painting them on clay tiles that will be displayed as public art around the school. The tiles will serve as a reminder to all of us of the shore animals, just as William and Herman's photographs helped bring an awareness to the animals of the Oregon coast.
Students should bring a healthy lunch, a full water bottle, wear shoes that are easy to walk in and that can get wet and/or sandy, and wear layers to stay comfortable on the shore. We will be leaving right away at 9:00 and the bus needs to be back to school by 2:00. This makes for a quick but special trip!
Thank you families!
Sincerely,
Sherry
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