Education on the Elwha
UW uses upcoming dam removal to study teaching techniques. The National Science Foundation awarded O’Mahony and UW Professor John Bransford a one-year RAPID (Rapid Response Research) grant. The pair is using the $200,000 to study teaching methods regarding the Elwha River and the upcoming removal of its two dams. Half of the more than 300 participating middle-school students from nearby Port Angeles are doing traditional science projects with PowerPoint presentations. The other half will create five-minute videos that tell the story of the watershed’s past, present and future, including the swamping of local tribal land, the blocking of more than 70 miles of superb habitat from five salmon species, and the biggest dam-removal project in U.S. history.