Project Summary

Lake Swano, 1998

The Model Watershed Project is the physical site - a seminatural area of the Grays Harbor College campus surrounding Lake Swano - that serves as an outdoor extension of the instructional facilities of the college and an educational and recreational resource for the community. It is simultaneously an instrument for teaching the principles of ecology and natural resource management and a model of watershed restoration and stewardship. It is a portion of an actual watershed, where numerous examples of natural watershed functions, detrimental human impacts, and restoration practices occur. The goal of the Grays Harbor College Model Watershed Project is to develop a safe and accessible outdoor extension of the instructional facilities of the college and the 14 school districts it services, while restoring and preserving natural watershed functions and values to the site.

To accomplish these goals the Model Watershed Project is expected to:

• Enhance, preserve, and protect the natural watershed ecosystem;
• Collect and make available watershed curriculum materials to local teachers
• Provide in-service environmental education training's for local K-college teachers;
• Provide interpretive trails for K-college students and the public;
• Heighten general awareness about the "holistic" nature of watersheds and;
• Allow the general public to enjoy the trials, lake, and watershed area.

Natural resources students learn about water quality by regularly monitoring Alder Creek & Lake Swano, biology students learn about habitats, and the college aquaculture center is running a successful hatchery program. The Grays Harbor College Model Watershed Project site is a "living laboratory" in which all people can learn more about the value of watersheds and how to care for them.

GHC Model Watershed Project in the news:

The Timberline (GHC student newspaper)
"Lake Swano gets a new image" (5/16/85)
"Trail idea revived" (12/9/88)
"Lake Swano trail becoming a reality" (1/26/90)
"The back forty of GHC" (6/1/97)
"Lake Swano nature trail springs to life" (5/20/98)
"Hard work turns ugly duckling into a beautiful Lake Swano" (6/2/99)

Drops of Water
"Ripples, Riffles & Riparian Runs" (2/98)
"What's New at Grays Harbor College Model Watershed Project?" (12/98)

The Daily World
"About a dozen Grays Harbor College students hit the trails each Friday in an effort to improve Lake Swano as a recreation area. The man-made lake, built in the early 1950s by Swano Katalinich, was virtually ignored until three years ago when students began volunteering their time and energy to improve the site." (5/13/72).
"Scouts plan a 'silver' project" (8/21/94)
"Up With People crew pitches in" (3/1/98)
"GHC students observe Earth Day" (4/23/99)
"Lake Swano Trail open" (6/14/99)
"A Model Watershed" ( 1/26/05)

The Olympian
"You can run, hike at Lake Swano trails" (1/5/99)