FieldSTEM Teacher of the Year Jordan Duncan opened his acceptance speech at the 2023 FieldSTEM Celebration by reeling off a formidable set of credentials and awards. “If you think that’s an impressive resume, you’re right,” he told the amused crowd. “But it’s not mine; it’s my wife’s.” Like
When you think of a culinary class, you might imagine students discovering the proper way to chop onions. Which students in Tess Koning’s class do – along with learning the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in different phases of food production and distribution and how food waste contributes
It’s a late summer morning, right in that weather sweet spot when there’s a chill early in the day but it’s comfortable by lunch time. You sip a hot cup of coffee as you walk across a river, listening to the water as it flows over smooth, round
On August 24, PEI Regional Coordinators Lara Tukarski, Daniel Cuevas, and Molly Griffiths set up activity tables in preparation to receive enthusiastic participants during the Woodard Bay Bilingual Interpretive Walk at Woodard Bay Natural Conservation Area in Lacey, Washington. The team hosted families from North Thurston Public Schools
2023 Program Overview In the 2023 Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems (YESS) program, high school students across the state earned credit while building their skills and exploring natural resource careers. Over five-six summer weeks, class time was paired with hands-on service at community partner sites. At the end
Pacific Education Institute (PEI), Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), Cowlitz Ridge Tree Farm, and other community partners participated in the second workshop for Engaging Communities in Forest Education in the South Sound/Lower Columbia Region in the beginning of August! This workshop took a
PEI’s fiscal year ends on June 30th and the past 12 months have been big. For one thing, our staff has expanded to 20 part-time and full-time employees – a new record! Another first: the highest-ever percentage of workshop participants sent us documentation showing they’d implemented what they’d
What do eighth-grade students who have lived through a pandemic and Douglas fir trees have in common? Resilience. That was the message Lamont School District Superintendent Charles Pierce shared with the graduating class of 2023. On Arbor Day, students and staff gathered to plant a Douglas fir on
Here’s a question you’ve probably never considered: can a pinecone be played like a harmonica? The answer is not really, but it sure is fun trying, as one teacher at a Trees & Me: Early Childhood Outdoor Learning workshop discovered in May. Over 40 educators and educators-in-training from
PEI’s workshops are typically well attended, but what happened in May was exceptional. Over one hundred people registered for a Phenomena Based Learning: Solutions Oriented Storylines workshop and of those who attended, nearly all completed the course requirements. “We ended up awarding STEM clock hours and stipends to
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