Peer Mentor Program

As a part of the Classrooms Across Borders program, the Marys River Watershed Council and the Institute for Applied Ecology hold a three-day summer workshop for our Peer Mentor program.

At this workshop, twelve high school students from the Corvallis and Philomath areas learn about ecosystem concepts, environmental education, and how to teach lessons to dual-immersion (Spanish-English) third-grade students.

First, students participate in the environmental lessons themselves, conducting hands-on study of plants, insects, terrestrial insects, and aquatic invertebrates. Next, students practice teaching these different stations, in English and Spanish, and give and receive peer feedback. On the third day, students take a guided canoe trip on the Willamette River in order to observe river issues and watershed health.

During the school year, these peer mentors assist in the third-grade classroom lessons and teach the environmental lessons for the Bald Hill Farm spring field trips.

This program is supported by the Institute for Applied Ecology and sponsored by Meyer Memorial Trust.

For a review of the 2019 workshop, check out this blog post. 

Students attend the three-day workshop at Bald Hill Farm.
Students learn insect identification as part of the summer workshop.
Students learned about plants along the river.