Dispatch from the Salmon Forest: Eliza Preston

Every year now, when school lets out and summer rolls around, I become a tad melancholic. I get sad at the idea of my grown-up life and the lack of time spent in natural spaces. Every summer that I can remember, I spent at a sleepaway camp in Northern Ontario. The feeling of electric excitement as I packed my bags, knowing that camp was waiting for me, exactly as it was the year before. This is why the gap has recently felt so large in my life every June when the warm sun shows its head.

Moving to British Columbia this summer, I was excited for a fresh start, but a part of me still felt that twinge, a feeling that I was missing something. That is why, when I was introduced to Salmon Forest and Simona, I was over the moon. I was bestowed the pleasure of volunteering during their “Salmon Week”. Salmon Forest is a forest school program built on the ethos that some children often learn better without classroom walls, fully immersed in nature. It is unique in the way that it encourages free and imaginative learning and unleashes gratefulness for nature.

Salmon Forest Sign welcoming you to the classroom. 

Strolling up to the Mossom Creek Hatchery on the first day, I was filled with jittery excitement. In that moment, I was seven again, and it was my first day of camp. When the kids arrived, camp was in full swing. There was an immediate sense of the significance of this experience. I was so happy to see each child filled with unbridled joy at the idea of exploring their natural environment freely. Together we learned about respecting the slimy banana slugs, identifying the large leaves that gave us shade, and exploring aquatic invertebrates in the creek. Mid-week, I was even able to demonstrate a salmon dissection. We talked about the significant journey the female coho salmon (lovingly named Gerald) had to take to lay her eggs and die. I helped describe the role of each organ and let the little hands explore each part. Their curiosity inspired me and encouraged me to think more inquisitively in my own salmon research. We thanked Gerald for her life and her offering to our learning and returned her to the ocean. That was my favourite day.

Teaching the class about how the swim bladder works during the Coho salmon dissection.

However, I think the campers’ favourite day was hiding in the hammocks while staff members stomped over, playfully pretending to be hungry bears searching for our next meal. The overflowing giggles and screams were enough to send hatchery staff down to see if there was an actual bear in our classroom!

Playing "hungry bear" in the hammocks. 

We start and end each day at Salmon Forest with sharing what we are feeling grateful for in the moment. On my last day with Salmon Forest, I found it difficult to ascertain what I was grateful for in that moment. Sitting in the outdoor classroom with all the little eyes on me, I was grateful for so many things. The way it felt as though the forest had accepted me. The giggles that I will never forget. The personal learning and growth I had. The ability to be a kid again. I was grateful in that moment for all of it.

Making fairy houses to bring in the magic.

Thank you to Simona and the rest of the team at Salmon Forest and Mossom Creek Hatchery for an incredible week. The program that you run there is incredibly special, and I can’t wait to see how it continues to grow in the years to come.