On September 19th and 20th, 18 formal and informal educators attended PEI’s two-day workshop at the Salmon Center in Belfair to learn about erosion and food waste storylines that address climate change. Each of these incorporates NGSS aligned 3-Dimensional instruction, Indigenous ways of knowing, locally relevant activities, and solution oriented learning based on research from Project Drawdown. Lower Columbia FieldSTEM Coordinator Chad Mullen and PEI Faculty Laura Tucker taught attendees engaging science activities they can do with their students. The teachers also heard a presentation from Alex Papiez, Stewardship Coordinator at the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, on restoration and erosion of local rivers and streams.
The chickens on site at the Salmon Center provided a talking point for how food waste can be dealt with
Hattie Osborne, PEI’s South Sound FieldSTEM coordinator who was also there, helping facilitate the event, noted that “Teachers were engaged with this workshop and thinking about connections they can make in their community and on their schoolyard. They really liked the hands-on aspects of the workshop and started thinking how they could implement a food waste program at their school, or work at their school site to mitigate erosion through plant restoration or engineering solutions.”
Many of the 4th and 5th grade teachers who attended this workshop will go on to implement this cutting-edge curriculum, bringing environmental awareness to students across the state.
