Erik Westerlund, an interpretive ranger in Yosemite, visited Sierra Foothill Charter School 5th through 8th graders on December 7, 2016. He sang songs, played guitar, and had students participate in games testing their knowledge about various aspects of Yosemite. He included information on the topics students had learned about during their recent NatureBridge trip. It was a wonderful visit.
Ranger Erik (as he asked to be called) engaged students by beginning his presentation with a song that made them all proud to be mountain people - he taught students how to yodel!
Ranger Erik introduced students to an artist named Charley Harper who created art of the natural world, especially of birds. Harper created works for the National Park Service.

Together, they studied one of Charley Harper’s prints of Yosemite. Ranger Erik helped students notice the small details in the print. Some of the details included: a shooting star wildflower, snow plant, ladybugs, a brown bear, a waterfall, a hidden upside-down squirrel, raccoon, quail, robin, deer, woodpecker, grosbeak bird, towhee, scrubjay, and a tiger swallowtail.

Ranger Erik taught them about the flora and fauna of the lower montane ecosystem (fortuitously, one group in 5th and 6th grade just finished researching this ecosystem as a science project).
Students loved the “Wheel of Fortune” game he used as a teaching tool.
Students Tyler Brown, Trevor McClard, and Ryan Ramirez show off the ranger badges Ranger Erik gave to all the students.
Erika Miranda's fifth and sixth graders pose with Ranger Erik.

The students' take away message from Ranger Erik's presentation was that just like in art, nature makes us want to revisit an area over and over again to continue noticing details.

Sierra Foothill Charter School is a free, non-profit, TK-8 public school. For more information, contact the office at (209) 742-6222 or visit SFCS’s website: SierraFoothillCharterSchool.org. To stay up to date on all the latest happenings, “like” SFCS on Facebook.