Edmonds, Everett community colleges offer archaeology training and dig at Japanese Gulch
03/09/2012
LYNNWOOD — Edmonds and Everett community colleges offer archaeology classes this summer with a rare opportunity for students to work on a real local dig.
Students will be excavating a site at Japanese Gulch, within 140 acres of wooded ravine, in Mukilteo this summer. They will be recovering artifacts of the Japanese community, emigrants working in the Mukilteo Lumber Mills, who lived in the area in the early 1900s. The City of Mukilteo discovered historical and cultural artifacts at the site while working on a fish passage and stream restoration project at Japanese Gulch Creek.
The colleges are partnering with the city to create an anthropology and archaeology field training program at the site. Students will learn about human ecology and archeology and go into the field to collect, clean, analyze, and document artifacts under an archaeologist's supervision.
“This is a unique, hands-on learning experience for students. We’re fortunate that our partnerships give us the resources to expand the reach of intensive service-learning projects and to bring this opportunity to more students,” said Dr. Thomas Murphy, founder of Edmonds CC’s Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School. The LEAF School partners with local tribes, governments, and non-profits to offer students hands-on field experiences in human ecology and archaeology.
Students from both colleges will serve as crew chiefs and peer mentors on the project. The colleges will also work with developmental education classes and service-learning courses to give more students opportunities to learn from the archaeological site.
“When my colleague, Thomas Murphy, approached me about this project I knew it was something many students would leap to join," said Cynthia Clarke, anthropology instructor at Everett CC. "Students who want to become archeologists and others fascinated with how archaeology teaches us about ourselves have been excited to hear about this project.”
The archaeology field training is made possible by Connect 2 Complete, a Campus Compact Program providing peer advocacy and service-learning to support low-income students in developmental education courses, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and support from the Retention Project at Washington Campus Compact.
Interested students should enroll in Archaeological Field Methods, Anthropology 270, and Archaeological Lab Methods, Anthropology 217, at Edmonds College summer quarter. Summer quarter enrollment at Edmonds College starts May 23. Call 425.640.1560 for more information about anthropology classes or go to LEAF School web page to learn more about the LEAF school.
Summer quarter enrollment starts May 21 at Everett Community College. Call 425.388.9328 for more information about anthropology classes or go to www.everettcc.edu/anthropology to find out more.
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Campus Compact | www.compact.org
Campus Compact is a nonprofit coalition of nearly 1,200 college and university presidents—representing over 6 million students—who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. As the only national association dedicated to this mission, Campus Compact is a leader in building civic engagement into campus and academic life.
Washington Campus Compact | www.wacampuscompact.org
Established in 1992 and hosted at Western Washington University, Washington Campus Compact (WACC) is committed to providing meaningful experiences for students to become active, engaged leaders in their communities, furthering the civic and public purposes of higher education, and strengthening communities. WACC has 38 college and university members throughout Washington state. It is an affiliate state office of Campus Compact, a national organization comprised of more than 1,200 colleges and universities committed to the civic and public purposes of higher education.
Center for Service-Learning at Edmonds CC | www.edmonds.edu/servicelearning
Edmonds College’s nationally recognized service-learning program combines meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience and strengthen communities. Last year, 525 service-learning students provided nearly 30,000 hours of service to 57 campus and community partners. Service-learning programs at the college include AmeriCorps Students in Service, the Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School, the Veterans Conservation Corps, and AmeriCorps Retention Project working with the college’s LEAF School and TRiO Student Support Services and Adult Basic Education/ESL programs.
Everett Community College | www.everettcc.edu
Everett Community College educates more than 20,000 students every year at seven learning centers throughout Snohomish County, with most students and faculty at the main campus in north Everett. Students come to EvCC to affordably start their four-year degrees, earn certificates, train for a new job, experience hands-on training in professional and technical programs, learn English, develop basic skills, finish high school, train for a promotion, or to learn just for fun. EvCC is also the home of the University Center of North Puget Sound, which offers more than 25 bachelor's and master's degree programs.
Find out more
Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School