Three Reasons Teachers Love PEI’s Asynchronous Course

Special Event

PEI and Partners Share the Power of Collaboration at E3 Washington Conference

It’s been a year of financial uncertainty for nonprofits, especially those reliant on state or federal funding. But instead of competing with other organizations for a shrinking pool of resources, groups can share funding and collaborate to leverage the strengths of each.

It’s a lesson that educators in Southwest Washington have learned through experience. In November, representatives from PEI, ESD 112 and Lower Columbia Nature Network (LCNN) shared their key takeaways from a year of collaborative professional development at Washington’s Outdoor, Environmental and Sustainability Educators’ 2025 Conference sponsored by E3 Washington.

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Statewide FieldSTEM

Asynchronous Course Inspires New Educators to Explore FieldSTEM

If you combine built-in relevance, self-paced instruction and affordability, what do you get? PEI’s Asynchronous Course, an online opportunity for educators to explore aspects of FieldSTEM’s integrated learning model, gain an understanding of the impact outdoor experiences have on student growth and health, and reinforce the value of multi-subject integration.

Through the six-week virtual course, participants identify a content area and study unit from their classroom curriculum and embark on a self-paced journey through the components of the FieldSTEM model. Each learning module invites them to reflect on their current teaching practices and consider where they might integrate more FieldSTEM into their instruction. At the end of the course, they synthesize their practice by developing a draft FieldSTEM implementation plan, which serves as an action plan for educators ready to translate their learning into practice.

South Sound Teachers Explore Watershed Education in Two Languages

A good indicator of whether a teacher training is effective is how soon educators plan to apply what they’ve learned with students. For educators at one recent PEI workshop, that answer was ‘tomorrow.’

“People said they planned to use these resources the next day,” says Emily Newman, PEI’s Lower Columbia FieldSTEM Coordinator. “We shared several quick activities that they could implement with students.”

The activities Newman refers to were part of a Bilingual Watersheds and Ecosystems workshop for South Sound teachers. Funded by the City of Olympia, the workshop is part of a larger effort to connect the Hispanic and Latino Heritage community in Olympia and surrounding areas to nearby nature and share Spanish-language resources with dual-language educators.

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Annual Campaign

Join PEI’s Annual Campaign This December

Looking to invest in a great cause that also happens to be tax-deductible? PEI’s Annual Campaign kicks off on December 1st and runs through December 31^st. Invest today!

Join PEI's Annual Campaign

Tools & Tips for Teachers

Schoolyard Biodiversity Guide

One of PEI’s most popular resources, the food waste storyline guides students through a ‘food waste audit’ and they explore the local and global causes of food waste and its impact on the environment. They also study indigenous connections to food and learn how community organizations and agencies deal with food waste. Note: this link is for the 5^th grade storyline. PEI also has food waste storylines for all other grades in our resource library.

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Upcoming Events

Date	Workshop	Format and Location	Audience
12/09	Taking Learning Outside: Designing for Biodiversity – Birds, Plants and Habitat on Campus	Vancouver, WA In-person	K-12 educators
12/16	Get WILD with WDFW: State of Salmon	Virtual Zoom	Educators Grades 3-5 *Registration opening soon – keep an eye on your email!
1/5	Asynchronous: Introduction to FieldSTEM Winter Cohort A	Virtual – Neon Train	K-12 educators and administrators
2/09	Asynchronous: Introduction to FieldSTEM Winter Cohort B	Virtual – Neon Train	K-12 Educators
2/10	Taking Learning Outside: Planting with Purpose - Native Species and Pollinator Connections	Battle Ground – In- Person	K-12 Educators and Administrators
3/10	Taking Learning Outside: Spring into the School Garden - Planning, Planting and Growing Together	Battle Ground – In- Person	K-12 Educators and Administrators

With Gratitude

Thank you, November investors!

Bloedel Timberlands

Cindy Mitchell

Community Foundation of South Puget Sound

Doug Hooks

Gail Kramer

Gareth Waugh

Hampton Lumber

Heidi Smith

John Ison

Joseph Kemmer

Manulife Forest Management

Manulife Investment Management – Forest Management

National Forest Foundation

The McGregor Company

Tom Shorey

Invest in PEI