MONITORING THE FLUVIAL SYSTEM OF BOEING CREEK (SHORELINE, WA): A SERVICE-LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

Shoreline Community College conducts a service-learning, field-based project in lower-division geology and geography laboratory science courses that focuses on the study of mass wasting, erosion, flooding and stream channel migration in the Boeing Creek watershed. The 1600-acre Boeing Creek watershed is about 90-percent developed and drains to Puget Sound. The main stem of Boeing Creek is approximately 1.5 miles long, with 2 major tributaries, adjacent to Shoreline Community College. The creek experiences excessive erosion from the dynamic peak flows of a developed watershed and a very erodible surficial glacial geology. The proximity of the stream to the campus, the existing stream and slope instability, and the direct connection between land use and its impacts on natural systems, provide students with an ideal outdoor laboratory.

Service learning projects are intended for students to apply skills, tools and knowledge to “real life” situations while also developing an ethic of service and civic responsibility. Geoscience field data collection provides students the opportunity to apply classroom learning to a real-world context, while providing valuable services to the local community. The data collected by students over time is meant to provide the City of Shoreline’s Surface Water and Environmental Services Program and Shoreline Community College with systematic time series observations for long-term monitoring, planning and maintenance of recreational, residential and commercial areas within the Boeing Creek watershed.

This project is designed around small student groups working towards a definite project outcome that follows specific guidelines and processes jointly developed by course instructors and City of Shoreline staff. This collaboration is key in meeting the challenge of balancing good pedagogy and useful data collection. Students working on this project develop “hands-on and deep learning” on stream and slope dynamics as well as geoscience field study skills. Students are also exposed to urban stream conservation issues and learn how to identify human impacts on stream and slope dynamics. Finally, students realize the importance of creating a set of long-term systematic observations of a natural system of value to the local community.