Most realize that he is a good guy, and that predators are necessary for keeping things in balance. We discuss hunting, and why humans are now a necessary predator in our world's scheme.

Water and the water cycle now comes into discussion. 

"Twenty-five years ago, we sent out two space ships, Voyager One and Two.  Their mission was to look at the moons that surround Jupiter and Saturn, then go from there and explore the outer planets of Uranus and Neptune. Do you know what they were looking for?"

Several children raise their hands. "Were they looking for water?" 

"You bet your sweet lives they were," say I.  "Do you know why?"

"'Cause we need water to live," responds a bright 12-year old.

"All life, at least all life as we know it here on earth, depends on water," I lecture.  "Our finding water outside the earth shows that there could be a possibility of life outside of our own planet."

The kids seem pretty pleased about all of this. We discuss the water cycle, and we talk about how the water we have is used over and over again.

I offer them some water. "The water we drink is ancient. It is the same water that the dinosaurs drank."

"Eeew, yuck," respond some of our six graders. "You mean we drink dinosaur water?"

"That's right. You'd better believe it," I respond.

"Eeew gross," they reply.

"Let's put this into proper prospective," I continue. "Do you see that rock there? It is probably one of our 'older' Tillamook Volcanics. My guess is that it's around 50 million years old. The dinosaurs lived 65 to 138 million years ago. That was a long time ago folks, and yet they probably drank some of the same water that we do."

All it takes is a handful of soil, a few rocks, and some water, and we can have a successful outdoor school.

When we conclude, I leave the kids with a few things to ponder. "Do you see that Douglas fir tree? How many years does it take to grow before we can harvest it?"

"Fifty to 80 years?"

"It takes Mother Nature 500 to 1000 years to form just one inch of topsoil. It only takes humans an instant of time to destroy what nature takes centuries to build. Do you know that there are places in this world where we have no topsoil? Without topsoil, we can't grow food.

"You are our next generation. You have the ability to make things better, or to continue to screw things up. You can protect our soil and water, or you can totally destroy what we have. It's your choice. Tell me, how will you chose?"

Gosh, I love outdoor school.