Wrapping up Salmon Expeditions: A Reflection on Another Successful Season

By Niyana Ferntree, SYRCL’s Education Instructor 

The education team here at SYRCL is proud to have wrapped up another season of Salmon Expeditions! This program is nearly twenty years old, and it continues to evolve and grow bigger and better every year. The Salmon Expedition program is one of SYRCL’s most far-reaching programs, engaging thousands of students and community members over the course of a few months. This year alone, nearly 2,400 students, teachers, parent chaperones, and community members from 35 different schools had the chance to see the magic of Chinook salmon spawning season by rafting on the lower Yuba River.  

Chinook salmon spawn in the fall, so we time our trips to align with the salmon, ensuring that students have the highest likelihood of witnessing fish. The trip itself consists of a four-mile float down the lower Yuba River, led by SYRCL education staff in collaboration with the wonderful raft guides at H2O Adventures. Students make several stops throughout the day to do various lessons and activities. These lessons focus on the history of the Yuba River, the Gold Rush, Nisenan language and culture, salmon lifecycle and biology, a river investigation to learn about benthic macroinvertebrates, and restoration. Students begin the day with a short lesson on the history of our watershed, and how the Gold Rush has impacted the environment at the lower Yuba River, as well as the people and animals that have historically called our watershed home. Then students begin rafting, where the guides and instructors help students identify salmon and redds (salmon nests) and teach students about the ecology of the Yuba River throughout the day.  

The first stop of the day allows for a deeper dive into the history of the river, and students have a chance to build models of the river and how it has changed throughout time. The second stop of the day gives students a chance to do a benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) investigation during which they are able to get hands-on in the river and search for water bugs under rocks. These BMIs are important because they are a food source for juvenile salmon, and they are also an indicator species. This means that based on the different types of BMIs the students find, students can determine the health of the river. The students’ final stop is a tour of Lower Long Bar, which is one of SYRCLS’ most recent restoration sites. Lower Long Bar was designed to create rearing habitat for juvenile salmon. This stop allows students to compare two sides of the river: one that has a huge training wall and the other where over 350,000 cubic yards of gravel has been removed, a plethora of willows have grown, and a backwater habitat has been created, seeing first-hand the difference restoration can make.  

In addition to the rafting experience, every class also receives an in-class pre- and post-lesson from SYRCL instructors. The pre-lesson focuses on salmon biology and lifecycle, so students are prepared and armed with knowledge about salmon before the trip even starts. The post-lesson dives deeper into restoration and allows students a chance to think about the role they can play in helping the environment.  

The Salmon Expedition program would not be possible without the continued support of our generous funders. The Yuba Water Agency provides funding that allows us to take nearly every school in Yuba County on this trip at no cost to them. This season, we also received funding from the Teichert Foundation which helps support Nevada County schools at a subsidized rate. A big thank you also to Gold Country Fly Fishers who went out of their way to fund Grizzly Hill Elementary School’s trip. We are grateful to all our funders and private donors who allow us to continue providing students with this amazing experience.  

Typically this is the only chance students will have to go on a rafting excursion like this, and they remember this experience fondly for years to come. In addition to being educational, these trips are fun and memorable for every student who attends. 

 Gabrielle Tejada from Edgewater Elementary said her students “loved the trip. Most had never been on a river before, or even knew what a salmon was, and now they are able to explain more about how the land has changed and how the life of the salmon is today.”  

We believe getting students outdoors in the Yuba watershed is an incredible learning experience for them and helps foster in them a care for the environment and a drive to protect it. Caitlin Martin, SYRCL’s Education and Outreach Coordinator, expressed that “In order for students to want to protect a place, they have to care for it first. This care starts with getting them outside where they are able to witness nature and fall in love with all its beauty. Once they get on the river and start experiencing the Yuba in its full glory, there’s that initial spark, that sense of wonder – what is hopefully the first step in a lifetime of stewardship.”  

Our Education team is thrilled to have completed another successful salmon season, and we are excited for the salmon seasons to come!  

Join Us in Inspiring the Next Generation: For twenty years, SYRCL’s Salmon Expeditions have connected thousands of students to the Yuba River watershed, creating moments of wonder that turn into lifetimes of stewardship. You can help ensure this program continues to grow and reach even more young people: 

• Make a donation to support environmental education that gives students hands-on experiences they will never forget. 
• Become a SYRCL member to fund education programs, restoration work, and the science-based advocacy that protects the watershed these students are learning to love. 
• Share this story with teachers, parents, and community members who believe in the power of connecting young people to nature. 

When students fall in love with the Yuba River, they become its protectors for life.