During a beautiful Tuesday morning on May 30th, the Nisqually River Education Project (NREP) hosted its first ever clam dig with Wa He Lut Indian School! When students and staff met at the lower parking lot of Tolmie State Park, AmeriCorps members talked with 6th and 7th grade students about the importance of sustainable harvesting, native shellfish species, and laws and regulations regarding shellfish harvesting. As boots were donned and students ran to the beach, the tide was low at two and a half feet exposing shellfish, scurrying crabs, and beds full of hundreds of dark purple sand dollars. With muddy and excited students gathered round, our AmeriCorps member Nantz demonstrated best practices on how to dig littleneck clams out of the mud without breaking their shells. Youth then spent the next hour digging for clams, exploring the beach, and learning more about intertidal life from staff.
After students gathered their clams and favorite shells from the beach, the clams were place in fresh water to soak. Staff then prepared for the cookout by creating a broth of thyme and pickle-weed with ingredients provided by Heidi Bohan. Heidi is a teacher of traditional ecological knowledge and author of the book, The People of Cascadia: Pacific Northwest Native American History. While staff cooked the clams in the broth, Heidi prepared a native plant herbal tea which included stinging nettle and shared it with students while speaking about the traditional shellfish harvesting tools and methods used by local Tribes. As students lined up to eat the clams they had harvested, hesitation and skepticism could be seen across their faces, however with some garlic butter and loaves of bread added to the mix this look soon turned to one of surprise and enjoyment of how good their harvest tasted! Where once existed doubtful students now were middle schoolers who loved clams and were even asking for seconds! Staff asked the group if they had ever harvested shellfish before and no one raised their hand – it was a day of new experiences for all!
After students ate clams, some took turns using binoculars to bird watch, while others moved to Heidi’s shell necklace station where they created jewelry by drilling holes into some of their favorite shells they had collected on the beach that morning. They then strung together their shell necklaces with dentalia and other shells that Heidi provided and many students were wearing their necklaces proudly. Students and staff had a great rest of the day exploring the beach, watching birds, and wishing there were even more clams to eat. This programming was organized by NREP AmeriCorps member Nantz McMillen and made possible by the No Child Left Inside grant.
