Enviornmental Education – South Sound GREEN

Monthly Update – January 2026

February 9, 2026 Stephanie Bishop

A student looking at benthics under a microscope.

Welcome back from winter break! Just because it’s still chilly outside doesn’t mean we aren’t going to get some outdoor education in. Our schedule was full of stream ‘bug’ lessons to complement our water quality education in the Fall and an MLK Day of Service with our Teens in Thurston volunteer group.

This month we visited classrooms of students who participated in our Fall water quality monitoring to show them another indicator of water health – benthic macroinvertebrates! We taught students about the importance of stream bugs, how they relate to salmon, and then grouped up around different bins full of water, stream sediment, and real-life bugs! They learned to use a dichotomous key and a pollution tolerance index to identify and group the different critters to determine the health of local waterways. It’s always a treat to show students the importance of water health and having fun while doing it.

Our January Teens in Thurston MLK Day of Service event took place at a local property owned by Dan Mazur, the founder of the Olympia Oyster Seed Planting Project. We were joined by Pacific Shellfish Institute and many volunteers to put together bags of Pacific oyster seed. Our volunteers managed to make 32 oyster bags with hundreds, if not thousands, of oyster seeds! These oysters will grow to provide food, habitat, and filtration services to the marine ecosystem to support the health of the water in Budd Inlet. A huge thank you to our volunteers and for the work that Dan and the Pacific Shellfish Institute put into making this even possible. If you or a high schooler you know is interested in outdoor and environmental volunteer work, please contact Sam Nadell at snadell@thurstoncd.com to join our email list.

Action Projects, Environmental Education, South Sound GREEN, Updates

Monthly Update – December 2025

December 22, 2025 Stephanie Bishop

Our Evergreen intern Tiana helping two students with planting.

We ushered in a chilly December with action projects and seed sorting!

Students from ORLA, Reeves Middle, and Marshall Middle joined us at a local farm and Squaxin Park to participate in habitat restoration. Students worked hard on helping support riparian zones by pulling invasive species and planting native shrubs. Students learned how to properly plant to ensure the best changes for these species and why it’s so important to fight against invasives. Some of these students have participated in water quality testing, leading to some great connections between riparian buffer zones and water quality. The cold was no problem for these conservationists!

This month TnT met at Haki Farmers Collective. Here we spent the rainy afternoon in the barn sorting sorghum seeds and beans as we learned how the plants are used. We even had some time to conduct some science experiments as we tried to pop the sorghum seeds like popcorn! If you have a teen interested in getting some outdoors working experience, contact Sam Nadell at snadell@thurstoncd.com.

We at South Sound GREEN are happy with the work we’ve been able to accomplish this year, and none of it would have been possible without the help of our teachers, volunteers, students, and community partners! We had over 8,000 student interactions this year and multiple new classes and schools participating in our programming for the first time. We have a lot of exciting education opportunities such as South Puget Sound Regional Envirothon and Student GREEN Congress coming up, so keep your eyes peeled for future updates. Here’s to another successful year in outdoor education!

Environmental Education, Nearshore, South Sound GREEN, Uncategorized, Water Quality

How Many Seashells Does She Sell on the Seashore?

July 13, 2018July 23, 2020 ssgreenamericorps

Hopefully, for the ecosystem and the beach goers, none.
With the oceans becoming more acidic it is harder for shelled marine critters to build strong outer protection and secondary shellers (like hermit crab) are having trouble finding homes! Each item on the beach, whether it’s shells, crab molts, or rocks plays an important role in the beach’s local ecosystem.
And that is the main message being shared at the seashore during Nearshore Field Trips!

This spring South Sound GREEN hosted 770 students to participate in the Nearshore program. Students ranged between 5th to 8th grade, and came from 6 local schools. The Nearshore program is a field trip that South Sound GREEN offers as a way for students to connect their freshwater monitoring experience with the marine waters of Puget Sound.

For many kids this is the first time seeing some of the different marine species up close and in person, and gives students an introduction to marine biology. “I am thankful for this experience because I got to see new animals in a beautiful place” Aeivet, 5th grader. Through this hands-on program students learn about what affects marine water quality and how their freshwater monitoring site is connected to the Puget Sound. The students get to collect plankton samples, identify the plankton under microscopes, and use a Secchi disk to measure turbidity with Pacific Shellfish Institute. They also get an overview of scuba diving and interact with marine life brought up to the surface by the divers.

Students had the opportunity to explore the subtidal zone at Zittel’s Marina, and then then intertidal zone at Tolmie State Park and Johnson Point Beach. In this nearshore habitat they identified marine life with South Sound Estuary Association’s Beach Naturalists and discovered various adaptations that help the organisms to survive in the different habitat zones. During the programs, 255 volunteer hours were spent helping students to identify over 90 different marine species.

Julia from Lydia Hawk wrote “This was one of my favorite field trips in fifth grade! And thank you for letting our class experience this!” If each person that went to beach to experience the amazing marine ecosystem (like the 770 students in the Nearshore program) collected a souvenir, there would be very little for others to enjoy and even less left for marine critter’s to build their homes.

So remember the next time you’re on a vacation and want to take that beautiful cockle shell home, Life’s a Beach. Or rather Beach = Life.

Environmental Education, South Sound GREEN, Student GREEN Congress, Uncategorized, Water Quality

A Congress Where Kids Make the Decisions

July 13, 2018July 23, 2018 ssgreenamericorps

Over 500 student delegates from 30 schools around the South Puget Sound and Nisqually Watersheds gathered at The Evergreen State College for the 26th Annual Student GREEN Congress on March 22nd. This year’s Congress theme focused on the Orcas of Puget Sound, featuring a welcome from State Representative Beth Doglio (LD-22) and a keynote presentation from Jeff Hogan of Killer Whale Tales, a program where students can experience the world as the animals around them do. With the Southern Resident Killer Whale population at critical levels, it was a special opportunity to connect students’ work studying local streams to broader issues of environmental stewardship in their communities.

South Sound Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN) and the Nisqually River Education Project host Student GREEN Congress each year as the culmination of water quality monitoring programs with classes around local watersheds. Student delegates ranging from 4th grade through high school participated in a “State of the Rivers” session, sharing water quality data and developing action plans to improve their local streams and rivers.

Students also learned from experts dealing with today’s environmental issues and took part in hands-on, science-based educational workshops, including salmon dissections, investigating stream bugs, shellfish tasting, tree planting, and much more. Student GREEN Congress gives a unique opportunity to investigate other topics related to water quality.

29063952_2081588358524218_684179503112875469_o — Photo credit: The Olympian

One student who attended Congress wrote “The best part of GREEN Congress for me would have to be taking a Volcano class and meeting new people.” Even the teachers are excited about participating, “My students and I loved the break out classes. Each student was able to explore their individual interests in the water quality area.”

This year 159 volunteers, teachers, parents, and professionals supported the event by leading workshops and State of the Rivers sessions, guiding students around campus, and much more!

Since Student GREEN Congress began in 1992, thousands of students and hundreds of teachers have used hands-on learning to make a meaningful difference in their own backyards. The event is supported by many community partners who make this educational experience possible. In addition to support from Thurston Conservation District, Nisqually River Foundation, and The Evergreen State College, many community partners, along with local artists, scientists, and educators committed to environmental stewardship came together to put on another successful Student GREEN Congress. A special thank you to the Nisqually Indian Tribe for donating smoked salmon and seedlings as gifts for the 500+ student delegates.

Environmental Education, South Sound GREEN, Uncategorized, Water Quality

How Clean is Your Stream?

July 13, 2018July 23, 2018 ssgreenamericorps

Water quality is a major issue not only here in the Pacific Northwest but all over the world. Local Olympian students, grade 4th through high school, are taking a closer inspection to truly see if the water quality in their neighborhood is healthy with the help of South Sound GREEN (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network). South Sound GREEN is a watershed education program in Thurston County that educates, empowers, and connects about 50 classrooms and 1200 students in watershed studies annually. Students conduct stream investigation that include water quality monitoring, benthic macroinvertebrate sampling, and projects to improve the watershed.

At the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, I went into classrooms to teach the students what is a watershed, how humans influence water quality, and what are the best optimal standards for water quality (which of course are based on salmon… we are in the PNW!). Many students think watersheds are tanks that hold water for houses, when in reality watershed are areas drained by a river system, or other bodies of water. Or they believe that woody debris lying in the stream is bad rather than seeing great habitat for aquatic life. After learning about good examples of riparian zones and acceptable water quality standards, we take the 1231 students and 143 teachers/volunteers outdoors to test the waters.

In February and October, I went out with the classes to sample water from their adopted creeks, lake, or beach to conduct tests for dissolved oxygen, turbidity, nitrates, pH, temperature, and fecal coliform bacteria. Once the data is collected the students then compare these numbers to the previous sampling data, noting patterns and trends. By analyzing the data, students have a better understanding of point source pollution and non-point source pollution in their watershed. They can then come up with an action project that will help lessen the impacts of human activity and improve water quality at their testing sites.

This data collection and analysis will prepare them for attended the annual Student GREEN Congress where student delegates present their data and discuss the health of their watershed with other students to find out how they can protect their watershed.
So I ask, how clean is your stream?