2001 Area Students Discover Treasures of Painted Robe Creek Most of the kids had never thought of what was lying unseen (and unknown) in the prairie surrounding their homes. All their lives they had shuttled back and forth across the land between school, homes and towns in between Shawmut, Ryegate, Broadview, Rapelje, Judith Gap and Lavina. But when the 5th and 6th graders attended an Outdoor Classroom at Painted Robe Creek on April 24th, they discovered what treasures lurked in the sandstone, sage and juniper-dotted landscape. Sponsored by the Lower Musselshell Conservation District, the classroom consisted of four rotating classrooms with lessons in soils, wildlife, solar energy, tree planting, and testing water quality. "This is paradise," said Jay Erfle of Rapelje, as he poked around in a bucket of slime. Warren Kellogg, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of Helena, had the children collect samples of the natural food chain as he gave them the over-all picture of the watershed. He began with the remnants of the ocean bed of long ago - the salt crystals and gypsum that break down into salts and calcium, along with sulfur and aluminum that have become components of the soil and water we have today. Like taking blood samples to determine the health of a human, Kellogg explained how water quality monitoring indicates the health of a watershed. The students learned that water monitoring consisted of taking samples of temperature, oxygen and pH. But the best part was collecting water bugs. They learned snails can live to be 70 years old, that the water bugs called Boatmen were the "grizzly bears" of the water bug world, and they eat the larvae of the biting gnats that plague humans and animals alike. Another big hit was the solar pump demonstration by Rob Krause, NRCS technician, where they learned the transition from sun to panels to energy for pumping water. And pumping from the creek to a tank helps water quality because it keeps the cows off the banks. The students had a concept of the current energy crisis. " I thought it was a good idea to have the solar panels there and explain them because in the future, I think that will be our main source of energy," said Tyler Gaugler of Judith Gap. During the lunch hour, the students were given a lesson by the descendents of the original inhabitants of Painted Robe Creek. Ellagene Lance and Bernadette Smith, members of the Crow Nation and employees of Chief Plenty Coups State Park, mixed various soils and demonstrated how clay was used to decorate the Native American's shields, lodges, and other belongings. Some experienced the authenticity of the moment by volunteering to paint symbols on a deer hide. Other stations were taught by Pete Husby, NRCS, demonstrating wildlife of the area, and Bob Wegmann, Soil Scientist, NRCS, who explained the link between vegetation, water, and soils. As the warm spring wind blew across the prairie, Joan Krause told of the stagecoach line from Fort Benton to Billings that crossed Painted Robe Creek. The children's eyes followed the trail where the stagecoach crossed the creek and made its way up to a ridge. They could picture the robbers bursting out of the pines and holding up the stage. According to the story, the locked box was hidden nearby. When it was finally found many years later, it was full of holes and dents, where attempts had been made to open it. A gaping hole in the bottom had resulted in the liberation of the treasures, and the only thing left was an old fruit jar. But the treasures the children gleaned that day were treasures of a different sort. What they learned will link the past, present, and the future. Home | Impaired Streams | Newsletter | Conservation District | Related Links Site Design by Bull Mountain Brokerage & Design Copyright © 2000-2001, All Rights Reserved. No images, content or layout may be used or reproduced Original photo credits © Alice Wolff unless otherwise noted.