Auburn Rotary recently awarded White River Valley Museum with a $7,000 grant to fund a pilot school field trip program to Mary Olson Farm, starting mid-September and running through November.

More than 2,000 first- and sixth-grade students from Auburn School District will participate. First-grade students will explore where food comes from and the sixth-graders will study stream ecology while salmon are spawning in Olson Creek.

Volunteer tour guides are needed at the farm to help with the school field trips. Guides receive training to learn about one tour station and present per age level. An application process that includes a background check is required to volunteer. For more information, call the White River Valley Museum at 253-288-7433.

The White River Valley Museum is working with the City of Auburn to restore Olson Farm, the most intact 1880s family farm in King County. It opens in 2009 as a living history and environmental learning site. The farm is a King County Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. Significant features include an 1897 barn, a 1902 farmhouse and two salmon runs in Olson Creek.

Restoration efforts will continue this summer, including working with King County using wetlands mitigation funds to reshape and rehabilitate the north bank of Olson Creek.