Toledo Elementary 4th Grade Thank you letters

Fourth graders from Toledo Elementary School after Sam Chan’s 50 minute presentation (2011):

-Thank you for stopping by and teaching us about invasive species. I thought it was very amazing by how much quagga mussels were on the shoe. I wish you could come back and teach us more about invasive species. How long have you been interested in invasive species? I am thinking about writing a journal entry for the invasive species I find. Were you interested in invasive species when you were a kid? I will try my best to find as many invasive species as I can.

-Thank you for staying longer to inform us about invasive species. I learned that nutrias are an invasive species, and that the mitten crab came from China. I wonder when the mitten crab will get to Oregon? Can you predict when the mitten crab will get to Oregon?

-Thank you for coming to our school and for the very interesting talk. I loved what you brought even if I didn’t get to see the shoe, the other things like the tiny snails, the log, and the silver carp were very interesting, too. And thanks for the pencils and the booklets. The most interesting animal for me was the mitten crab because I’ve never seen a crab with furry mittens claws!

-Thank you for coming and telling us about invasive species. I never knew some of the things you showed were invasive. I didn’t know the holes in the sides of the rivers were from nutria. Yesterday when I got home I was looking around the outside of my house and looked for some invasive species. Thank you because now I know more invasive species and how they can affect habitats.

-Thank you for coming to our school and teaching us about invasive species. I thought it was interesting that nutrias came all the way from the bottom of South America. Also, do nutrias kill other animals in the river?

-Thank you for coming to our classroom and teaching us about invasive species. I never know that silver carp could leap out of the water! I was wondering, can scotch broom take over blackberries? Thank you for letting us borrow those books (the ones that were written by other kids). They gave us ideas to make books of our own. I hope to see you again.

-Thank you for teaching us about invasive species. Thank you for taking time to tell us the importance of keeping the environment clean. Our class is writing a short book on a invasive species. I am very interested in sea life so what invasive species that live in the sea do you know about? Please tell me about them.

-I really, really thank you about yesterday, I liked the nutrias the best. Now I know that the holes on the side of the river are where the nutrias live. On my 25 at computers, I really wanted to look up nutrias. Are octopuses invasive species? How about squids and catfish?

-Thank you for coming and teaching us new scientific stuff it was fun. I learned that yellow flag iris can ruin habitats and can make an island you most likely to fall into the water.

-Thank you Dr. Chan for coming to our class and teaching us about plants and their function in nature good and bad. I wish you could come to our classroom again so we could learn more about a lot more plants.

-Thank you for coming to our school. You taught me a lot about invasive species that my mom didn’t know about. After school me and my sister looked at the booklet and found all the invasive species on out property.

-Thank you for coming to our school to tell and show us about the spectacular and interesting facts about plant, animals, and land forms. We are making a book about silver carp, scotch broom, English ivy, and blackberry bushes. Thanks to you I now know to remove the ugly yellow flag iris from our garden.

-The presentation you gave to Mrs. Becker was scientifically interesting. I learned tons of new stuff like the jumping silver carp. I didn’t know they could grow to be huge sizes. Also, I was wondering is a nutria a mammal or a fish. Please write back soon.

-Thank you for coming in and bringing stuff to let us learn more about these new specimens. Thank you for giving us those booklets about invasive plant and for giving us pencils. I learned that the yellow flag iris and English ivy were invasive and I never knew that. One thing I want to know is how big can the biggest carp get? Why are zebra mussels so small and are they like snails if you eat them? It was a great pleasure meeting you and thank you for coming and I hope I figure out my questions. Please write back. P.S. please come back again soon to teach us more.

-Thank you for coming to our classroom. I thought the nutria was interesting because nutrias burrow into the ground underwater. What invasive species was most interesting to you?

-I thought it was neat to meet a scientist. Our future plans are to make books about invasive species, like silver carp, defense of North America and the killer- scotch broom, and the super-mutant ivy. It sounds like a good idea, by the way, I have a question. Can invasive species take over invasive species? I know not to transfer firewood while camping, and to watch out for yellow flag iris.

-Thank you for giving your time to us. I am going to look for things in the book you give us. I think the crab is the most interesting thing because it comes from the ocean floor and I know a lot about it. We are making a book about silver carp, scotch broom, blackberry.

-Thank you for your time. I had fun learning about invasive plants and animals. My favorite animal was the silver carp. I liked it because the colors really grabbed your attention. My favorite plant was the yellow flag iris. I never knew something so pretty could be so harmful. It was very interesting to see all the different specimens you brought. Although it was very neat to see all the different specimens, I do have a question. How did you get all your specimens? How did you find them all? Did you go fishing and catch the carp? Please write back soon. P.S. Please write back soon Dr. Chan and thank you once again for coming!

-Thank you for coming and teaching us about the nutria and the silver carp. Do you like your job being a scientist at OSU? It is fun being a scientist? Thanks to you I know not to move plants and plant them somewhere else. Now I know not to plant scotch broom. My favorite part was the mitten crab because I didn’t know that any crab claws could be furry.

-Thank you for coming and to teach us about invasive species. I had a lot of fun while you were here! I learned that invasive species are hard to deal with and hard to get rid of. I also want to thank you for the pencils and booklet. I found the shoe covered in the mussels very interesting because it is the first time I ever saw something like that.
-Thank you for teaching us about invasive species. I also want to thank you for the booklet and the pencils. P.S. I went crabbing and got pinched.

-Thank you for coming and teaching us about invasive species. My favorite part was the mitten crab and the silver carp. I think the mitten crab is interesting because the claws are furry. I think the silver carp is interesting because they can jump out of water when surprised. What’s your favorite thing about being a scientist and what are other invasive species?

-Thank you for coming. I learned a lot. It’s fun studying invasive species. I learned those blackberries are invasive species because they can spread and take over. Thank you for coming.

-Thank you for coming to our school. I did not know about the silver carp. Can blackberries take over any invasive species? I liked that you brought in the shoes with mussels on it. The black claw crab looked really interesting. I wonder how many black claw crab exist. I learned all new things I don’t know about.

-Thank you for teaching us. I’m very happy that you gave us that Garden Smart booklet because me and my brother Beaver went home with it and we found 7 invasive species of plants! We found scotch broom, the butterfly bush, English holly, blackberry (we aren’t sure what type), herb Robert Geranium, spurge (myrtle or leafy we aren’t sure) and english ivy. It was fun finding invasive species and telling my parents because they didn’t even know that these plants are invasive. Also thank you for giving it to us so I can make sure we aren’t planting invasive plants. I learned a lot! Thanks!

Summer Camps 2010

A look into student responses on what they learned from WISE presentations and games.

Campemento Explorativo Evaluations 2010

Adult ESL and GED students

Comment cards on Dr. Sam Chan’s lecture on water and invasive species.

-Thank you for everything. I learned more about the natural world and we learned how we have power for change. Not to throw garbage in the river or anywhere. That way we can avoid the destruction the environment, not kill the salmon and preserve them for a long time. I liked how you explained that all takes awareness.

-Thank you for coming to RCC. I leaned so much about the ocean and I liked everything you had to say to us. I especially liked the part when you spoke to us about the way the salmon usually swim up stream against the current. Thanks again and we hope to see you again on another occasion.

-Thanks you for coming to our class, I learned a lot from you. Now I known the ocean is so important for us. I learned the toilet uses 1.5-5 gallons of water for each flush. We can’t waste water and other things.

-Thank you for coming to our class. Because of you, I learned it is very important to protect the environment. Your whole presentation was interesting, but the Quagga mussel really scared me. (haha joke!)

-Thanks, for all the information that you have to us. I learned many things and one thing was that we have to care for the oceans. If we don’t care about the oceans, we will have big trouble. Now when I drink my cup of coffee, I’m gong to remember all the water that is necessary to use for one cup of coffee. Thanks again for your time and for sharing with us everything that you know.

-Thank you for learned about the environment and the salmon. Thank you for your information.

-Thank you for coming to speak to our class. Your lecture was inspired and very informational. I really learned a lot. How wonderful it must be to attend your classes at OSU. P.S. The bullfrog video was very good!

-Thank you for coming to our class. We enjoyed you very much. Thank you for the information on salmon. I enjoy fishing for salmon.

-Thank you for coming to our class and sharing your good news. We learned about the ocean because the ocean is very important for everything. I really was interested in the mussel covered shoe from 3 days in the water.

-Thank you for dedicated part of your time to teaching me that it is important to keep my habitat clean and to have in mind it is important to pay attention to water use everyday. Everything you taught me was interesting, a simple apple needed so much water. I never thought about it that way.

-Thanks for everything about water pollution. I was interested in everything you said. I was very interested in how much water we use. I learned how to purify water. I learned how to conserve water. Thanks for the information on the killer bees.

-I would like to thank you very much for sharing the knowledge you have about the ocean. I had no idea the plankton produces more oxygen than trees. I hope you can come back to RCC to teach us more. P.S. Also thanks you for the chocolate. We liked it.

-Thank you for coming to our class to teach us about the health of the aquatic ecosystem. I enjoyed learning about the ocean and aquatic ecosystem. I also liked learning about which plants are good to plant and which are bad to plant. Thank you for the booklet on plants. I learned the beef uses 15,500 gallons of water and thank ocean for the job, air, water and food.

-Thank you for coming. I really liked your talk about environmental protection. How we make and pay attention to pollution, anything else important for people, health and country.

-I was excited about information about the ocean. You are friendly with all the students and honest when you talk.

-Thank you very much for your information about science and the video. Thank you for coming last Thursday morning.

-Thank you for the nice story about your enthusiasm for science. Thank you for the important information on contamination of the water and then the aftermath of the environment. The important contamination was very interesting.

– Thank you for coming to explain what you know and to teach us. I learned the toilet uses 1.5-5 gallons of water for each flush. Thank you for the chocolate.

-Where were you when I needed inspiration last year? Your energy and considerate manner touched all of us and inspired us. The students’ responses were enthusiastic and interested in so many things you brought up. I am always amazed by the specific bits of information that can spark interest in a student. You were a great model teach for me. I was surprised by how much you covered in that short time. I’ve changed my plans for this term and have a tour of the filtration plant scheduled for the end of the month. You brought out so many good ideas, questions and thoughts from the students. Thank you so much for your presentation. P.S. We loved the chocolates!

– Dr. Sam Chan was an amazing spokesperson. In his speech you knew he really cared about his work with invasive species. He had great ways to keep you interested in the subject. He also had this energy that just seemed to fill the room and tell you “this is important” and “this is what I love”. His work with invasive species was intriguing and amazing at the same time. His work with salmon probably saved thousands of lives in the process.
I also asked Dr. Chan about a bill that is now in congress, that bill is H.R.660; it is a bill that will outlaw any sales or breeding of any non-native small animals, birds, and reptiles. The pet industry is an over $50,0000 industry and if this law passes there will be certain job loss, and it will severely damage the economy.
I talked to Dr. Chan about that bill, and the fact that if this bill passes it will just make the invasive species problem worse. Those breeders that have been put out of business will just release their animals into the wild where they can breed and cause lots of damage to our native plants, and animals, so really it is easier to just let the people sell these animals. Not to mention, there would likely be an increase of sales in black market animals. Dr. Chan agrees with me, and probably all of the other people that care about animals.
I hope that we can get a grip on this invasive species problem, so our native plants and animals can be on the mend. I think the work of people like Dr. Sam Chan we are on the way to just doing that.