Unpacked: New grant program teaches students about rural careers in fisheries, wildlife

Connor Henricksen:  The Idaho Department of Education wants school districts to create new programs to prepare students, starting in seventh grade, for jobs that are needed in the state.  NWPB’s Lauren Paterson tells us more about that. Lauren, thanks for joining me.

Lauren Paterson: Hey, what’s up, Connor?

Henricksen: So what are schools in Idaho’s panhandle using this grant money for?

Paterson: Great question. So over the last two years, the Idaho Legislature has allocated $65 million dollars for different schools throughout the state to apply for grants, and this is for the Idaho Career Ready Students program. So they want to make sure during high school, actually starting in middle school, that students are better prepared for jobs when they graduate, especially jobs that are really needed in Idaho.

Most of the schools that were awarded in North Idaho are getting major shop upgrades, lots of equipment like sawmills and new equipment so students can learn skills like woodworking, welding and how to turn logs into boards. They’re also learning all about certain types of trees and how they produce different types of wood.

Henricksen: So it sounds like students are learning a lot about lumber and forestry. What about other outdoorsy things like fish and wildlife?

Paterson: Yeah, so glad you asked. So part of this program, the goal has been to build out natural resource classes. I sat through presentations of two different classes at Orofino Junior Senior High School. 

The students presented, one was dual credit actually, and they presented to industry professionals, people in the timber industry, logging companies, even a legislator was there. Here’s student Logan Henson. She’s a junior, she hasn’t decided what to study in college yet, but she’s talking about one of the natural resource classes where the class conducted a stream health assessment at Orofino Creek.

Logan Henson: My favorite part about this one, to come full circle, was that we actually found a Pacific lamprey in the creek. 

Paterson: So, of course finding a lamprey, that’s the sign of a healthy creek. They’re a major food source for birds, wildlife, so students are learning all about environmental science and careers in wildlife and fisheries. They took multiple field trips to logging facilities, local fire departments to learn about wildland firefighting, what kind of equipment you need to wear to be a smokejumper. But they’re also out in the woods learning how animals are tracked — for careers like being a wildlife biologist. 

Henrickson: So what about other schools in the area? Are they coming up with similar programs?

Paterson: Yes. Many of the grant awards went out in the northern part of Idaho, schools like Potlatch and St. Maries north of Moscow, Kamiah and Orofino down here in the Clearwater Valley and other rural schools, like Lapwai. And on the award sheet for many of the schools are the letters “CTE,” meaning Career Technical Education. So all kinds of programs like this are being created at the different schools.  

The state superintendent’s office says they don’t have plans to ask a legislature for more money, but they do plan to track students all over Idaho and present the success of the program once they get more data on the kinds of careers that students end up choosing.

Henricksen: Logging, wildland firefighting, environmental science, all of them, you know, very outdoorsy programs. So are these things that students can then transfer into as full careers?

Paterson: One of the goals of this program is to let students know the kind of jobs that are available in their community in case they wanna stay close to home. There are so many of these kids growing up in rural areas, and they wanna know what kind of careers they can find in their own backyard.

When I talked to Idaho’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield, who made this program a priority, she said they were able to start up natural resources and forestry programs at eight different schools in Idaho. 

Debbie Critchfield: What blew my mind was, that they weren’t in existence, or weren’t fully expanded, and it came down to resources. And in an area where this is, generationally, kids are growing up not only just working but recreating in the forest, in the woods, it was that moment of ‘OK, why have we not filled this gap?’

Henricksen: So is that part of a shift away from pushing every student towards a traditional college and instead giving some paths into careers or trade schools right after high school?

Paterson: One of the interesting things about this, as Critchfield noted, there’s a shortage of welders and diesel mechanics in the state.

So it’s really more about the Legislature looking at what jobs are in demand and trying to track kids towards those industries like forest products. Many of these jobs like being a wildlife biologist or forester, those would still require a college degree, but there are plenty of opportunities for students to get to work right after high school, and many of them plan to do jobs like welding or working for timber companies this summer.

Henricksen: All right, well Lauren, thank you for your time.

Paterson: Thanks for having me.