Speaker: Dr. Molly Darr, Forest Health Extension Specialist & Asst. Professor, WSU

The WOW-WA Spring 2024 Webinar Series registration is now open! Join us to learn about common forest health concerns, management techniques, and resources available to help you reach your stewardship goals. The webinar series is hosted via Zoom from 6 to 7 p.m. and recordings are available to anyone who is registered. Dates and topics are as follows:

Click HERE to register! We welcome anyone to participate regardless of gender. Zoom access links will be sent to participants upon registration.

Are you ready to be part of the solution and not continue to perpetuate the problem?

 As a leader in the outdoors, you are an influencer. The actions you take have a direct impact on your staff, volunteers and participants. AORE believes that we can all continue to work on improving our hiring and programming practices.  I think we can all agree that we all want our staff, volunteers and participants to feel invited, included, able and welcome to experience the outdoors. 

WHAT IS THE INCLUSIVE SUMMIT?

AORE is hosting this one-day summit to provide attendees with a wider recognition of exclusionary practices within outdoor recreation and education and to help them gain better understanding of how they can actively work to make change as leaders in the industry. 

This year will look a little different, as we will share on demand content (3 videos and a workbook) to watch and work through before our live workshops. 

With Educators Jennifer Hegan and Stephanie Weinstein

Join Invasive Species Education Facilitators to gain a better understanding of invasive species, their impacts, and how students of all ages can make a difference. This is the opportunity to see new outdoor focused invasive species education resources that touch on multiple aspects of curriculum. You will gain fresh ideas, tips, and tools for inspiring learners to be aware of local biodiversity, to develop deeper connections with nature, and to become stewards of special places. 

Save the date for the Northwest Youth Garden Network’s (NWYGN) Annual Gathering on Wednesday, 4/17, at GRuB in Olympia, with optional field trips available in the region on the day before or after.

Registration will be available in the coming weeks, with more details about the agenda. 

Learn about the NWYGN here and join the mailing list here.

With Water Education Experts, Rochelle Strauss, World Fish Migration Day, Water Rangers and Ocean Wise

Water is essential for life and each of us is part of the water cycle each day wherever we live. Join us for this collaborative workshop where we will discuss all things water education, from our place in the cycle, to the other beings we share the water with, how to study it and how we are linked to the oceans!

Center for Environmental Health and Cafeteria Culture invite you to join us for our zoom webinar:

School Foods Directors Discuss Plastic Reduction Measures

Calling all School Food Directors! Nationwide, school cafeterias use billions of single-use plastics each year. School Food Directors are perfectly placed to end this expensive, wasteful practice and open major institutional pathways to healthier and more sustainable alternatives.

Please join Dr. Katie Wilson, Executive Director, Urban School Food Alliance (USFA) & Johannes van der Pool, Child Nutrition Services Director, Fremont Unified School District (California), to learn how school food directors can tackle cafeteria plastics in packaging, foodware or both. The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and Cafeteria Culture (CafCu) are thrilled to present two leaders in the growing environmental and public health movement to reduce school cafeteria plastics.

From Our Speakers:

• The Urban School Food Alliance, headed by Dr. Katie Wilson and representing 18 of the nation's largest urban school districts, uses volume buying power to push distributors and manufacturers away from plastic packaging. Dr. Wilson will provide best plastic packaging reduction practices and show how districts of any size can tackle food packaging, such as condiment packets and pre-packaged food items like fruit cups and other grab-n-go items.

• Johannes van der Pool, food director for a medium-size 3500 student district, will recount the roadblocks encountered and the steps taken to move six California schools to non-plastic reusable foodware and swap out condiment packets for dispensers. 

This webinar is designed for school cafeteria stakeholders interested in less expensive, healthier and environmentally preferable cafeteria options, including school food nutrition staff, district administrators, procurement, sustainability, facilities and operations staff, teachers, school green team members, students and parents.

Multicultural Tools & Strategies for Nature-Based Program Leaders, by Ashley Brailsford, Ph.D.

April 11, 2024
2:00 PM Eastern Time
Presenters Ashley Brailsford

Operating nature-based programs centered on diverse cultural perspectives can be challenging but necessary to transform our early childhood spaces into inclusive places.

Join Ashley Brailsford, founder of Unearthing Joy, for an overview of multicultural strategies and tools that create culturally centered curricula and programs. First, Ashley will share a multicultural curriculum approach to help you evaluate your programming. Then, we’ll review tools such as multicultural literature, family stories, and the creative arts. This inspiring session will end with coaching strategies to support teachers in implementation and reflection along their journey.

Join Ashely to learn to:

• Define the levels of multicultural curriculum approach.

• Describe various multicultural tools and strategies.

• Identify coaching strategies to apply to their own environments.

2:oo PM – 3:30 PM Eastern Time.

REGISTER NOW

You are invited to attend the sixth installment in our Schoolyard Forest Design Lecture Series on Thursday, April 4th at 11:00 AM PT/2:00 PM ET. 

In this session, we will feature research on how living schoolyards and schoolyard forests can help reduce extreme heat and increase thermal comfort, as well as design recommendations to keep students cool at school.

Our speakers for this session are:

• V. Kelly Turner - Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Associate Director of Luskin Center for Innovation at the University of California, Los Angeles

• Ariane Middel - Associate Professor at Arizona State University, with a research focus on urban climate

• Jennifer Vanos - Associate Professor at the School of Sustainability and the College of Global Futures, Arizona State University

The lecture will be recorded and posted to our website for those of you who are unable to attend. 

Speaker: Rachel Brooks, Forest Pathologist, WA-DNR

The WOW-WA Spring 2024 Webinar Series registration is now open! Join us to learn about common forest health concerns, management techniques, and resources available to help you reach your stewardship goals. The webinar series is hosted via Zoom from 6 to 7 p.m. and recordings are available to anyone who is registered.

Click HERE to register! Zoom access links will be sent to participants upon registration.

FREE WORKSHOP: Yard Waste & Worm Bin Composting
Hosted by the City of Tacoma’s Office of Environmental Policy and Sustainability

Give home composting a try! Manage yard, garden, and some kitchen waste by creating a reusable product to amend soil, make mulch, and enhance your landscape.

Bold Storytelling for Collaborative Fundraising

Hosted by Nonprofit Association of Washington

Stories are the basis for all social connections and the mechanism we use to understand ourselves and make sense of our world. For nonprofits, sharing stories helps us convey our purpose, impact and aspirations for those we serve and support. They are one of the most important tools we have to inspire action and advocacy. At the same time, our stories are complex, often delicate and must compete for our audience’s attention.

When we decide to come together with peer organizations to collaborate for greater change and broader impact – our story becomes even more layered. However, our story also becomes more ambitious and powerful.

Will your Members of Congress stand up for environmental education?

Yes! If you ask them!

Please join a call on Thursday, March 7, 2024, 1-2 pm ET to learn how you and/or your state environmental education Affiliate can help support federal funding for environmental ed. this month.

In the coming weeks, Congressional appropriations committees will make initial decisions about what resources to allocate to the EPA and NOAA environmental education programs for the next fiscal year 2025. These programs are vital for the field - both for the professional development offerings they support, but also for their fantastic direct grant programs. March and April is the time for all constituents - including you! -to contact Members of Congress to support these critical governmental offices… and we will help you!

Experience has shown that endorsing an internal request for this spending is the easiest thing that a House member or Senator can do for their constituents. But they will only do this if they are asked. The more legislators on record backing these appropriations, the better chances for the funding, and potentially for an increase for these modest programs. 144 current Representatives and 45 Senators have historically supported these, or other related environmental and climate education items. Requests to do so again are the absolute easiest asks to make, but someone has to make them. Our goals this year include to approach all Members of Congress who are already friends of environmental education, plus connect with all freshmen and retiring legislators, to hopefully sign on as many of them as we can.

Our Key message: Environmental education is essential for addressing our local and national environmental issues.

So please join us for a briefing on our campaign this year and we’ll also cover some advocacy basics. Details to join:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84718762601?pwd=afdC0dLLxEKPwZyHfaiKBhur9r3hOh.1 

Meeting ID: 847 1876 2601
Passcode: NAAEE

Agriculture specialists with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Area Port of Seattle) will offer an overview of their program’s work to intercept agricultural invasive species on incoming cargo. An overview of current wood-boring pests of concern will be highlighted. Additionally, the speakers will discuss the intersection with their work at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where they conduct inspections at the International Arrivals terminal. Finally, the ‘Don’t Pack a Pest’ campaign will be introduced, including ways the public can help reduce the chance of bringing back unwanted hitchhikers in their food, luggage, and souvenirs.

Register here.

This event will be held via Zoom.

Join Karen Ripley, an entomologist with the U. S. Forest Service, for a presentation on the Mediterranean oak borer, an invasive pest that is active in California and recently was detected killing white oak trees in Oregon. Learn about the pest’s biology, pathway of spread, and hosts. Signs and symptoms of infestation will be highlighted as well as how to find additional information. Questions will be addressed at the end of the webinar. One pesticide recertification credit from the Washington Department of Agriculture has been requested. 

Register here. 

This event is held via Zoom.

This year, the ISEP will be held in person. It is a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new friends working in your field. We have a number of thoughtful and dynamic speakers in store for this annual event. Please join us on this special day to learn about the Eradication by Mastication, Washington's response to quagga mussels, Mediterranean oak borer, language surrounding invasive plants, our fan-favorite weed quiz, and much more. You won't want to miss it! Here are the details:

Location: Hegewald Center 710 SW Rock Creek Drive Stevenson, WA 98648

Cost: $50 (a limited number of scholarships may be made available) 

Register Here!

Are you looking to build your skills and create community with other environmental and outdoor education professionals? Want to enhance your ability to engage students preK-12 in hands-on, real-world learning, and civic engagement? Join us for this fun, interactive day of exploration and learning! In partnership with the Nisqually Tribe,  Nisqually River Education Project, Chehalis Basin Education Consortium, and Educational Service District 113, we will have a rich day of experiential learning.

You can register here. This free event will be held on site at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge February 29, 2024 8am-4pm.

Our goal is to ensure environmental educators can offer high-quality outdoor learning opportunities anchored in local, relevant phenomena for student learning within strong local networks. What can we learn from you?

Just like any other animal, coral can get sick. Coral diseases can harm whole ecosystems when they spread across reefs. In 2022, a mystery disease appeared on the magnificent reefs of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Join scientists in their efforts to identify the mystery disease, to predict how diseases may arrive at Flower Garden Banks, and to understand how the reef responds to pathogens, with invaluable lessons drawn from the outbreak of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) in Florida and the Caribbean. Explore the latest data on the Banks' mystery disease as we dive into the depths of coral health research.

Presented by Adrienne Correa, University of California – Berkeley; Laura Mydlarz, University of Texas Arlington; Dan Holstein, Louisiana State University

This webinar, delivered by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, will cover a wide range of topics related to the invasive European green crab. Firstly, European green crab identification, impact, and status will be highlighted. Next, the operational work plan and agency support for co-managers, tribes, and partners will be introduced. The webinar also will include updates from regional biologists, communication and outreach efforts, and additional resources. Speakers will address questions at the end of the webinar. One pesticide recertification credit has been requested from the Washington Department of Agriculture.

Register here. 

This event will be held via Zoom.

This course is for educators, organizations, and trainers who want to deepen their toolkit for youth voice, youth-adult partnerships, and civic action. Over 3 virtual sessions, we'll cover the Earth Force process, Environmental Action Civics basics, dig into youth-adult partnerships, and offer ongoing coaching once the course is complete. There is no cost to attend and we can offer stipends in most cases!

You’ll learn:

• Environmental Action Civics 101

• The Earth Force Process

• Best Practices in Training Others

• Problem Solving

Training Sessions

February 27, 2024, 11-1pm PST/2-4pm ET

March 5, 2024, 11-2pm PST/2-5pm ET

March 12, 2024, 11-1pm PST/2-4pm ET

To sign-up or ask a question, email kdorfman@earthforce.org.

In September, quagga mussels were detected in the Snake River near Twin Falls, Idaho. These invasive mussels form hard, sharp clusters that clog hydropower, water conveyances, hatcheries, fish ladders, and other infrastructure. Surveys found an adult mussel and multiple plumes of free-floating larvae, which can survive for a month before settling. While Idaho chemically treated sixteen river miles in October to try and eliminate this harmful aquatic invasive species, the larvae may have floated into Washington before treatment.

This first quagga mussel detection in the Columbia River basin is about 375 river miles from Washington. While the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted extensive monitoring and watercraft inspections, greater readiness and response capacity will be needed if the mussels are detected in Washington.

While there it is unclear if the Idaho treatment was done in time, there is no uncertainty about the risks to Washington. The known annual cost of keeping Washington’s hydroelectric dams functioning is more than $100 million annually. A quagga mussel infestation may harm habitat restoration efforts, fish passage, commercial and recreational fisheries, tribal cultural resources and treaty rights, the already threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead populations, recreational access, water supplies for agriculture, and Columbia River shipping. Join Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staff to learn more about the threat these mussels pose to the economy and environment, how to identify and report this devastating pest, and the department’s efforts to monitor for invasive mussels, improve protections for the Snake and Columbia Rivers and infrastructure, and reduce economic and environmental impacts. One pesticide recertification credit from the Washington Department of Agriculture has been requested. 

Register here.

This event will be held via Zoom.

The Washington Department of Agriculture’s Spongy Moth Program successfully has prevented spongy moth establishment for fifty years! Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary by taking a deep dive into spongy moth biology and management. Speakers will discuss the different species and subspecies of spongy moth and the flighted spongy moth complex; their impacts, detections, and eradication; the trapping program’s successes and challenges; and ways the public can help. One pesticide recertification credit from the Washington Department of Agriculture has been requested. 

Register here.

This event is held via Zoom.

Discover how maritime archaeology reveals a new understanding of North Carolina’s historic oyster industry, which remains a significant part of the state’s cultural, environmental, and maritime history. In this webinar, look back at the industry during the 19th and 20th centuries and learn how fishers from northern states changed the industry when they entered North Carolina sounds.

Join Patrick Boyle, a doctoral student in the Texas A&M University Nautical Archaeology Program, to gain insight into North Carolina’s historic oyster industry. Learn about the bugeye, a regional type of boat built in Maryland shipyards, and why its construction was perfect for North Carolina waters. Discover the influence of Chesapeake Bay oysterers on the industry, and explore several oyster boat shipwrecks in the region as he talks about his archaeological research. 

Patrick Boyle - Biography Patrick Boyle is a doctoral student in the Texas A&M University Nautical Archaeology Program researching the differing construction methods of the vernacular oyster boats of Chesapeake Bay. Having obtained an MPhil in Historical and Maritime Archaeology from the University of Bristol, UK, and an MA from the Program in Maritime Studies at East Carolina University, Patrick previously worked as the Assistant State Underwater Archaeologist for Virginia's Department of Historic Resources. Patrick spends his free time hiking, reading, and is pursuing his divemaster certification.

At this event you can explore the challenges that coral reefs face from climate change and the research underway to restore and build their resilience.

Climate LIVE K12 is a series of video events featuring live lectures and interactive activities with Columbia University scientists and experts. Ideal for students grades 6-12, undergraduates, educators, families, and the public! All events are FREE but registration is required.

Come learn about the WSDA Regional Markets Program! WSDA Regional Markets offers information, resources and grants, training and technical assistance, and regulatory guidance to farms and local buyers of Washington agricultural products. Program Staff and other farm resource providers will be on hand to answer your questions and share resources to support your small farm business.  

Colville: Wednesday, February 14, 2024
   WSU Extension Stevens County- 986 S Main St D

• Farm to School Networking: 11am-12pm

Learn more and register here.

Come learn about the WSDA Regional Markets Program! WSDA Regional Markets offers information, resources and grants, training and technical assistance, and regulatory guidance to farms and local buyers of Washington agricultural products. Program Staff and other farm resource providers will be on hand to answer your questions and share resources to support your small farm business.  

Nespelem: Tuesday, February 13, 2024
   WSU Extension Colville Reservation - 22 Nespelem/San Poil St

• Farm to School Networking: 3pm-4pm

Learn more and register here.

NOAA Science Seminar Series - Something for Everyone!

February 15, 2024 | 1-2 p.m. ET 

Presented by: Sara Hutto of the Greater Farallones Association and Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries and Doug George of NOAA

Description: The sediments of the vast ocean floor represent the world’s largest non-fossil pool of organic carbon, yet they are not well-studied or protected. The carbon in these sediments can remain stored for thousands to millions of years; however, activities such as mining, oil and gas exploration, and bottom-contact fishing can disturb sediment, resuspending it into the water column and potentially remineralizing carbon into aqueous CO2. Current understanding of marine sediment carbon along the US West Coast is limited, constraining meaningful management and protection of these critically important carbon sinks. The Greater Farallones Association, in partnership with NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) and NOAA’s Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries, conducted the first systematic evaluation of marine sedimentary carbon stocks in North-central California. This webinar will discuss the importance of marine sediments in global carbon sequestration and storage. It will also present the results of this study, including an estimate of the carbon stock within the Sanctuaries’ marine sediments and identification of carbon “hot-spots” on the seafloor based on a novel spatial model of carbon density.