Going to a creek. Putting on laboratory goggles and doing experiments. Making videos. Bowling. Going out to a movie. Visiting a museum. So, what did students at the 2012 Coeur d’Alene Leadership Development Camp like best?

“Everything!” proclaimed Cameron Baheza before bending over to spray-paint a T-shirt design.

Twenty-five teens and preteens from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe attended this month’s eighth annual camp on Washington State University’s Pullman campus. As always, WSU College of Education faculty planned and oversaw the beehive-busy week of activities. This year’s theme was water, a subject that melded cultural pride and environmental stewardship. They didn’t just talk about the water potatoes; they learned about the threat that mining pollution can pose to the wild native food.

Here’s a nutshell report form Associate Professor Paula Groves Price:

“This was one of our most successful camps to date. The participants were very engaged and learned a lot about the significance of water on a personal, community, and global level.

“Many of the students walked into our camp professing that they did not like science. What we later found out during the camp was that many of the students enjoyed science the way that we did it here in the camp. They liked science if it was hands on and applied, which was our focus. In the end, students demonstrated their knowledge of the water cycle as well critical water quality issues specifically with Lake Coeur d’Alene through their projects.

“Students are planning to teach their knowledge about water and share their projects with the reservation community in September.”