The River Mile (TRM) was established during the 2007-08 school year with in-the-field programs conducted during spring 2008 with seven schools and 289 3rd-12th grade students around Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. The program has expanded to include schools throughout the watershed and beyond.
Washington's Outdoor School for All Spring 2022
It is spring 2022, just over two years since we canceled our season and started the ups and downs roller coaster. At the Cispus Learning Center, our staff stepped outside by our flagpole. It was blue in the sky, and the temperature was warming up. A recognizable sound began to stir, and the yellow buses pulled into the facility. Our sign said “Welcome Back” for those kids; it started a week-long adventure filled with nature, imagination, hands-on earth, and peer-to-peer growth. The students probably thought, “Welcome Back?” We’ve never been. For camp staff, it was a welcome relief to see those buses. It meant we had survived and managed to keep our operation ready for this beautiful day. Read more about Washington’s new Outdoor School for All Bill for 5th and 6th grade students.
Environmental and Sustainability Literacy Plan 2022 Published
OSPI and E3 Washington (Education, Environment, and Economy) led the development of the Washington State Environmental and Sustainability Literacy Plan. The purpose of the Plan is to build on and leverage programs and initiatives already underway in Washington state. We hope to ensure that students in Washington have ample opportunities to increase their environmental literacy and enhance their academic achievement through real-world, integrated, project based learning. Additionally, we want to ensure that Washington state is well-positioned to obtain private and public funding to support this work. Access Environmental and Sustainability Literacy Plan Here.
You are the Reason
One of my favorite things in my life is when my entire family makes it back home from work. Stories, smiles, laughter, and the occasional wrestle by the five and six-year-old boys. I admire their attitude over the last two years; going with the flow and finding joy in the little things. Tonight, I stopped to say, “you are the reason.”
Community Circle: Coupeville School Farm
What is the best way to integrate education, food, economics, outdoor learning, and school-wide enthusiasm? The Coupeville (Washington) School District may have the answer with its school farm; a logical outgrowth of the elementary school learning gardens and focus on healthy food in the school. The unexpected side benefits are curious learners and the creation of fearless eaters.
Re-Centering Care in Our Work
Lately, I have been very inspired by trees and mushrooms. In old growth forests, mushrooms maintain relationships with each other and many other species growing in the forest. These relationships are centered around care. The fungi you see on a hike are connected to each other and the species around them through networks called mycorrhizae. These connections are the information sharing system that the forest uses to thrive. When I envision the work of E3 Washington, I like to think of a network quite the same.
The Little Garden That Keeps Giving
Bumblebee Haven Garden is situated on Okanogan School District property in rural, North Central Washington. It was started a few years ago by a now retired teacher, indigenous tribe members, and the local Conservation District. The garden provides K-12 students access to learn about vermiculture (growing soil from compost from worms), tending to land, and growing food alongside native plants on indigenous land.
Community Science Programs in Washington
Zoom Boom to Zoom Bust
Who were you before the COVID-19 pandemic forced you onto a screen?
Post-COVID life will not be easy; there will be a few awkward stares with a mask off, along with admitting you and others are socially awkward in person (maybe even before COVID). Our spider webs and dust will fall to the side as the light at the end of the tunnel reveals itself: “WE ARE BACK!”
Some kids have been learning outdoors for months in Whatcom County, but not in Seattle
The risk of catching the coronavirus is lower outside than inside, and for that reason, a lot of people were hoping that public schools could mitigate risk by shifting instruction to the great outdoors.
In Seattle, despite a push in the summer to make that happen, pilot programs are still not up and running. But in Whatcom County, dozens of kids in three school districts have been learning outside for months.
On an unusually sunny December day, kids soaked up the rays and played on the playground at Kendall Elementary School, nestled in the foothills of Mount Baker.