Author: Stephanie Bishop

The 2023-2024 school year has just wrapped up and as we take some time to reflect, it is clear that this school year was a great one. 4,710 individual students participated in South Sound GREEN programs this year! Our programs change with the seasons, but one thing that doesn’t change is the importance of getting students outside. It was a joy to work with teachers, new and returning, as we met their students in the classroom and out in the field. And, like always, we could not have made it through the school year without the collaboration and support from our community partners and volunteers. Thank you to everyone who made this year wonderful and helped us bring environmental education to students around our watersheds!

After a long school year, we believe teachers deserve a little extra support, so we like to invite them to the three day Summer Institute for Teachers professional development event. This year, we had 48 teachers join us at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge along with Nisqually River Education Project and the Chehalis Basin Education Consortium. This year’s theme was Empowering Teachers Towards Salmon Recovery. Over the course of the three days we had excellent speakers including folks from the Office of Native Education at OSPI, the Nisqually Indian Tribe, Long Live the Kings, the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team, the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office, and the Nisqually Indian Tribe Department of Natural Resources. We also had an array of break out sessions led by individuals from Pierce Conservation District, Thurston Public Works, Mason Conservation District, the Nisqually River Education Project, and the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group. The speakers and break out session leaders captivated teachers as they shared their stories and ideas. We also went on a field trip to the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group’s Salmon Center in Belfair, where we got to learn about their estuary restoration projects, tour their organic garden, and hear from their educators about lessons and games for the classroom. 

South Sound GREEN is looking forward to the summer months for some time to recalibrate after a very fun and busy year while we start to organize and make plans for next year!

This May, South Sound GREEN has been making the most of many field trips rain or shine! Nearshore field trips have started for Olympia 3rd graders and 8th graders. Students have been having a blast at Burfoot County Park playing CRAB-O (hairy shore crab themed bingo) with us and spotting adaptations among intertidal life with beach naturalist volunteers. Prior to the field trips, SSG educators led classroom visits to teach students about hairy shore crabs, adaptations, and how to hold wildlife by practicing with wooden crabs that they get to color and take home. 

The 8th graders have been exploring Meyer’s Point with our community partners for their nearshore trips, getting to pick from a variety of hands-on stations. Students have had the opportunity to dissect oysters with the Nisqually Tribe Shellfish Program, look at plankton under the microscope with Pacific Shellfish Institute, search for biodiversity along the beach with the Puget Sound Estuarium, study local forestry with the Department of Natural Resources, and survey native and invasive plants with Capitol Land Trust! 

SSG continues to help out at Eye on Nature trips with our friends at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Tumwater 3rd and 4th graders use their best listening ears and keenest eyes to observe wildlife and practice data collection, as well as being inquisitive towards native plants to learn about their traditional uses. We’ve been fortunate enough to have bright dry days while we lead groups of students on the trails to find salmonberry and red-winged blackbirds, amongst many species at the highly biodiverse refuge. 

This spring also saw the completion of Salmon Cedar Canoe field trips for the year. These trips, which SSG has helped lead at the t Salish Roots Farm and the Squaxin Island Museum, illustrate to students how valuable plants are to indigenous communities and how the plants all around us can affect our lives whether or not they are cultivated like they are in the medicine wheel garden. Kids are most often surprised to find out that Stinging Nettle can be used as medicine, food, and corded rope! Students also help remove the invasive Yellow Archangel on site. 

We are excited to continue with Olympia nearshore field trips throughout June after all the fun we’ve had this month and we hope that you’ve been enjoying the warmer weather as the seasons change!

Spring is here! And this year that has meant lots of sunshine during many of our field trips with students this month. We started the month with an Eye on Nature trip at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge which was great fun and gave students the chance to practice their observational skills and participate in community science. South Sound GREEN, along with Pacific Shellfish Institute, also met North Thurston Public Schools students  at both Meyer’s Point Environmental Field Station and Squaxin Park for high school biology field trips where students tested water quality, collected and looked at plankton, went on nature mapping walks, and surveyed riparian buffers. In addition to being out in the field, SSG has been working on preparations for Olympia School District nearshore trips happening next month with 3rd and 8th graders. We have a lot to look forward to this spring!

We also helped to coordinate the South Puget Sound Regional Envirothon competition that took place at Squaxin Park this month. Teams of high school students from 11 schools and five counties competed in hands-on environmental exams including an oral presentation. Students also had the chance to talk with environmental scientists and educators about their careers. It was a great day – congratulations to everyone who participated! If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the competition or would like to be involved next year, please contact Sam Nadell at snadell@thurstoncd.com. 

TEACHERS – we are currently planning the 2024 Summer Institute for Teachers, so please, keep an eye out for information coming soon!

As we embrace the warmth of March, it preludes the eagerly anticipated arrival of the 31st annual Student GREEN Congress! Over the past months, students dedicated themselves to meticulously gathering water quality data in anticipation of the event. Here, the collaborative efforts of South Sound GREEN, Nisqually River Education Project, and Chehalis Basin Education Consortium watershed programs were celebrated at The Evergreen State College campus, where they shared their discoveries and engaged in a plethora of enriching workshops hosted by esteemed community partners. This year’s Student GREEN Congress saw an impressive turnout, with more than 430 students and over 80 volunteers. It served as a vibrant platform for learning, collaboration, and the celebration of environmental stewardship. We would not have been able to do this without the support of so many community partners, including the Cities of Lacey, Tumwater, and Olympia, Trout Unlimited, the Thurston Conservation District, the Rose Foundation, the Nisqually Indian Tribe, Thurston County Stormwater, and countless others. We also extend many thanks to the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Washington State Conservation Commission for their sponsorship of this year’s Student GREEN Congress.

As the warm weather rolls in, South Sound GREEN will be hosting other types of field programs to get hundreds of students outdoors! Students will venture to nearby beaches for Nearshore programs, immersing themselves in the study of the rich tapestry of marine life thriving within the intertidal zone and understanding how the water and land are connected ecologically. Joined by some of our favorite community collaborators, participants will delve into the studies of coastal ecosystems, fostering a deeper appreciation for our natural world. If you are interested in being a volunteer educator for some of these trips, reach out to Sam Nadell at snadell@thurstoncd.com. 

Spring is upon us! At South Sound GREEN we are all looking forward to warmer weather, sunny skies, blooming plants, and of course, the many exciting upcoming events! This past February has been very busy for Thurston County students as they have worked diligently to collect water quality data from local watersheds at various parks across the city. As this winter data collection comes to a close, we are quickly approaching many exciting events such as the Student GREEN Congress, South Puget Sound Envirothon Competition, and many other fun activities! 

This past month, the Teens in Thurston volunteer group (TnT) participated in a bonfire to restore native prairie lands with the Center for Natural Lands Management! By burning old Christmas trees, valuable nutrients were distributed across the area via ash and the land will be able to host native prairie species in the near future. And you can’t have a bonfire without smores! For more information on future TnT events, please visit the Teens in Thurston (TnT) webpage or follow us on Instagram.

We are excited to be approaching the Student GREEN Congress event which will be held on Thursday, March 21st at The Evergreen State College in collaboration with the Nisqually River Education Project and Chehalis Basin Education Consortium! Elementary and middle school students from throughout the area will come together to present and discuss their water quality findings they carefully collected during the winter months. They will identify, share, and discuss their data, possible causes of pollution or poor water quality conditions, and make recommendations for improving the health of their watershed and the Puget Sound. If you would like more information about this event please take a peek at the Student GREEN Congress webpage!