Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems

YESS Program Wraps up Another Summer

This summer, 60 high school students from around Washington State participated in the Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems summer program. They engaged in PEI’s Forest Management and Restoration Ecology frameworks, exploring potential careers with their teachers and in the field with several local community partners while receiving high school credit and an $1,800 stipend.

“The triangle partnership model of this program between PEI, K-12 teacher, and natural resource professionals are what makes the YESS program so strong,” says PEI’s Green Jobs Coordinator Chelsea Trout.  “Students are learning real-life skills in these fields and making connections in their own communities. It’s a great opportunity for kids who may need to make up credit, need a summer job, and might not do well just sitting behind a desk.”

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Climate Science Education 

Wildfire Workshop Ignites Interest in Whatcom County Teachers

To misquote Shakespeare, wildfire by any other name burns just as hot. Doesn’t it? 

Yes and no. All wildfires have certain things in common, but the landscapes where they occur significantly affect how they manifest. Wildfires in western Washington have different characteristics than those in the eastern part of the state, as a group of 22 educators at a recent Engaging Communities in Forest Education: Fire Ecology workshop at North Cascades Institute discovered. 

Tribes Taking the Lead on Climate Change  

This is Indian Country Workshop Highlights Indigenous Perspectives

It’s not every day that leaders from five sovereign nations speak at a teacher workshop, and yet, on August 5th and 6th, twenty-five educators had just this experience.

The workshop, entitled Tribes and Climate Change: Protecting the Circle, was held at theTulalip’s Hibulb Cultural Center on the Tulalip Reservation. Speakers included former President Fawn Sharp of the Quinault Nation, Leonard Foresman, Suquamish Tribe, Ron Allen, Chair of Jamestown S’Klallam, Kat Brigham, former Chair of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, and Teri Gobin, Chair of the Tulalip Tribe.

The intent of the workshop was to highlight Indigenous voices, histories, current activities, and future planning efforts, and to demonstrate how the tribes represented are combating climate change and successful efforts they have led. Teachers heard many examples of leadership roles Tribes are taking to address climate change both here in Washington and at a global level.

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Sustainability Education

What's in a Game? 

FieldSTEM Teacher of the Year

Robin Driver, Eisenhower High School

FieldSTEM District of the Year 

Tumwater School District

PEI celebrates Tumwater School District 's commitment to getting every student outdoors for field-based, career-connected learning. The district may hold the record for the most community partners engaged, especially if we include their Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems (YESS) program. K-12 students have gained firsthand experience of geology, performed water quality testing, studied macroinvertebrates in the field, and explored wild food traditions in their region – all with support from multiple state agencies, the City of Tumwater, local conservation groups, and a regional college.
This is a beautiful example of FieldSTEM in action with teachers leading the charge with full administrative support. Great work, Tumwater School District!

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FieldSTEM Champion

Mark Doumit, Washington Forest Protection Association

Mark Doumit is best remembered as a tireless champion of Washington forests and the driving force behind the state’s landmark Forests & Fish Law that supports salmon habitat and recovery efforts and preserves more than 60,000 miles of streams running through 9.3 million acres of private and public forestland. A former small tree farmer, Doumit served in the Washington State Legislature from 1997 through 2006 before leaving public office to become to lead the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) as executive director. In that role, he advocated for private forest landowners who manage 4 million acres of woodlands. When he passed away unexpectedly in 2021, it wasn’t just his accomplishments people spoke about; it was his warmth, humor, generosity of spirit, and down to earth approach to the often dry world of legislation.

Special Event

PEI FieldSTEM Celebration 2024  

FieldSTEM Celebration 

Thank You Sponsors! 
  

Tools & Tips for Teachers

Flying Wild Resources 
  

Here’s a test: Count the number of times you can flap your arms in 10 seconds. Have someone with a stopwatch, or watch with a second hand, tell you when to start and stop as you count your flaps, then record them. Now see how you stack up against a few creatures with an admitted advantage: wings.

Bird Crow: 20 flaps
Pigeon : 30 flaps
Peregrine Falcon:  43 flaps
Carolina Chickadee: 270 flaps
Rufous Hummingbird: 700 flaps

Clearly, we have a winner! The master flapper award goes to the Rufous Hummingbird which is able to flap its wings 700 times in 10 seconds—that’s 70 times per second!

Now, try this with a group of kindergarteners. For this and other avian-related activities for elementary-aged students, visit Project Wild's Flying Wild Resources page. 

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Upcoming Events 

  With Gratitude

Thank you to August's donors and funders!