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Educational Activities > Students Work and Learn During Community Watershed Days
Also see the Henry Ranch Riparian Improvement panorama in the Resource Issues section and Allen Henrie Cares for Panguitch Creek in the Volunteer Opportunities section.

Students Work and Learn During Community Watershed Days
Marilyn Bulkley shares her passion for the Outdoor Classroom
Panguitch Elementery students learn first-hand about plant and animal
communities within the Upper Sevier River Watershed

Tell me, I forget,
Show me, I remember,
Involve me, I understand.”
Ancient Chinese Proverb

May 21-23, 2003, marked the second annual “Community Watershed Days” sponsored by the Upper Sevier River Information and Education Committee. Panguitch students, from elementary through secondary, helped plant willows, grasses and forbs, stabilize riparian areas, construct rock erosion walls and dig up thistle at the Panguitch Outdoor Classroom, Allen Henrie’s ranch and along the Sevier River.

A 1/2 to 3/4 mile section of Bureau of Land Management land along the Sevier River will see improved water and riparian conditions, thanks to the efforts of nineteen Panguitch High School students. These students, as well as one dedicated hunter, Stan Beckstrom (Utah Division of Wildlife Resources), Lisa Church (Bureau of Land Management) and Nate Harris (Utah State University Agriculture Experiment Station), spent the better part of a day planting narrowleaf cottonwood, chokecherry, silver buffaloberry and river birch. Although these shrubs were once prevalent along portions of the Sevier River, extensive land use has all but eliminated these important riparian plants.

While Allen Henrie barbecued hamburgers for an ambitious bunch of Panguitch Junior High School students, they planted native willows along his Panguitch Creek property. Willow bundles, gathered from nearby live plants, were anchored into areas along the stream bank that had previously eroded. The newly transplanted willows will send out new sprouts and quickly become established along the riparian area, providing shade for area trout, and reducing sediment transport within the watershed.

Complete with a small amphitheater, the outdoor classroom is a community gathering place
Upper Sevier Planting - Panguitch students plant willows along the Upper Sevier River in conjunction with Upper Sevier River Watershed Days.

Students Nichole Matthews(R)and Lesley Christensen help secure willows to the bank to reduce erosion and sediment transport as part of Upper Sevier River Watershed Days.

“Whether you know it or not,” said Allen Henrie, “you are doing a great service. What you have done today will make the water run clearer, and it will be a better place for the fish, birds and wildlife that live here.”

Not to be outdone, the smallest participants in the annual Watershed days were Panguitch Elementary School youth, kindergarten through fifth grade. Presentations from Debbi Cantu (Bryce Canyon National Park), Jason Bradshaw (Soil Conservation Service), Nathan Harris (Utah State University Extension) and Jake Schoppe and crew (U.S. Forest Service) helped participants better understand natural resources within the watershed and hands-on activities reinforced those concepts learned. Over 210 students and 21 teachers and parents participated in the elementary portion of watershed days, held at the Panguitch Outdoor Classroom.

“It was a great day,” said Marilyn Bulkley, Elementary Teacher and project organizer. “I am already looking forward to next year.”
Panguitch Junior High Students plant native willow along Allen Henrie's Panguitch property. Once established, the new willows will protect riparian areas and reduce sediment transport within the watershed.