Nick Hamm, City School teacher

Kid power is an awesome sight to see. Click here for a photo album of 50 students from City School, a West Valley School District magnet school, helping to reclaim a riparian area through planting at Sullivan Park.

The project helps complete river access and restoration work that the Spokane River Forum and Spokane Conservation District began working on in 2013 with the City of Spokane Valley. "It's another great example of good things happening for the environment and community when you commit to building long term partnerships and trust-based relationships," said Spokane River Forum Executive Director Andy Dunau.

With irrepressible excitement and great attitudes, the City School students planted about 300 native plants such as ponderosa pine, service berry and mock orange to revegetate and stabilize about 400' of hillside along the Spokane River bank. Said Nick Hamm, their teacher, "Part of our school mission is to have students go out into the community every five weeks, and work with experts. We want them to tie what they're learning in the classroom to helping meet real world needs in the community. This may include community service work, exploring possibilities for their future education or career, and more."

On this day, kids rotated between planting activities and being taught a botany lesson by Kelly Samia, an AmeriCorps volunteer with West Valley Outdoor Learning Center. Said Samia, "One thing I wanted to achieve with this lesson is teaching kids that plant biologists don't just study plants. They can be climatologists and problem-solvers as well, to help meet diverse needs."

The City School students are building on restoration work that the Conservation District began in 2015 when about 400' of fence line and strategically placed boulders were installed to discourage people from going up and down the bank, randomly causing serious erosion issues. At either end, there's a path to allow people to walk down to the river. Read More