Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center is lucky to host two summer courses from Portland State University. The first is a forest ecology class taught by Dr. Trygve Steen. Water in the Environment, a class for non science majors is taught by Patrick Edwards. Both professors bring an incredible amount of knowledge and enthusiasm about the unique environment of Opal Creek Wilderness with them into the classroom.
Dr Steen has been involved with Opal Creek before it was a protected wilderness. He has hiked all the trails and he has an infectious love of this place. John Villella, his assistant teacher is a lichenologist and former Opal Creek Instructor. The course is demanding, with class running late into the evening, but no one complains. After an eight hour excursion to the Franklin Grove, students come back chattering about the 586 year old Douglas-fir they cored and the abundance of speckle belly lichen, an old growth indicator.
Having college level students here invigorates the staff and helps us remember not to take the daily sights and sounds of the old growth forest for granted. It is also a welcome opportunity to refresh vocabularies and ask questions. Today, hiking with a family workshop, I could tell that instructor Katie Chipko was trying to hold back some of the new information she learned, worried that it might be too much for the kids. When a curious ten year old started asking about symbiosis, Katie grinned and let the discussion begin in earnest. It really doesn’t matter how old you are, this forest is the best classroom imaginable.