New class puts students in the field

Pulling on waders and wandering through the wetlands of the Flathead Lake Waterfowl Production Area to count plants doesn’t sound like a typical class, but it’s normal for students in Bigfork High School’s new applied environmental science course.

Taught by science teacher Hans Bodenhamer, the class partners with local agencies to use geographic information system software, or GIS, to map and catalog natural resources and other environmental factors in parts of the Valley.

The class is a continuation and expansion of the GIS work Bodenhamer has been doing with his Cave Club members. Students in Cave Club were presented the 2009 President’s Environmental Youth Award for their work in Glacier National Park, which included mapping work. Several of them presented to an international GIS conference of more than 10,000 in San Diego this summer.

Bodenhamer is teaching two sections of the new class this year. He lined up a number of different agencies for the classes to work with. Since school started, his students have been hurrying out to collect data for a variety of projects before the snow falls. That way they can spend the winter processing it all.

They’ve collected data on private lakes and the production area so far.

“We’re really kind of pioneers,” Bodenhamer said. “We’re getting more and more agencies excited about working with us. We’re so far outside the tradition.”

In many cases, it means through trial and error determining what’s possible, what works for an agency and also what will be educational for the students. In essence, the work the students do will then be used by agencies, such as Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, to better facilitate their work.

“They don’t always have the resources to do something like we’re doing,” Bodenhamer said of some of the agencies. “It’s a wonderful education opportunity for the kids.”

The class is aided by the fact that Bigfork High School received a $6,400 grant from Plum Creek Timber Co. this year to buy seven hand-held devices which will allow students to enter information into the GIS maps at the sites rather than taking notes on paper and transferring them to the computer later.

The school also received a $250,000 upgrade for its GIS software from Esri.

One of the biggest challenges with the class, Bodenhamer said, is making a nontraditional curriculum that involves a significant amount of field work function in a traditional class bell schedule.

In a 50-minute class, the students get on a bus, travel to their location, gather data and then have to get back in time for the next class period.

“They’re so wound up about it. We learn an awful lot doing it,” Bodenhamer said, noting that students will discover vegetation they don’t recognize, take photographs of it and head back to the classroom to investigate.

His students are of the opinion that the best part of the class is the teacher, Bodenhamer himself, who makes a difference for them. They also said they enjoy the chance to get out of the classroom.

“Mr. Bodenhamer is the coolest teacher ever, which is why I’ve had him for four years,” senior Anthony Baker said. “This class is way more fun. It’s hands-on, which is the best way to learn.”

Junior Eugene Germaine, who is also a Cave Club member, said he wanted to learn even more about GIS, which is why he signed up for the class.

“I never knew there were so many uses for GIS — anything to do with maps,” he said. “It’s a really good program.”