And with that, South Sound GREENS has wrapped up the 2025-2026 school year! Through rain, shine, and all the seasons, we got thousands of students outdoors to learn about our wonderful watershed.
None of this would be possible without teachers. As a thank you, we like to support our teachers by inviting them to our Summer Institute for Teachers. This is a 3-day professional development event curated for teachers participating in South Sound GREEN, Nisqually River Education Project, or Chehalis Basin Education Consortium educational programming that is hosted by the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
Every year we have workshops and speakers related to a theme. This year’s theme was Tides of Change: Learning About Puget Sound Recovery. There were some fascinating conversations and teachers got firsthand experience doing educational activities they can bring back to the classroom!
This wouldn’t be an outdoor educational event without some actual outdoor education. On top of learning at the Refuge, teachers were taken on their very own field trips! In the morning we went to Boston Harbor to learn all about life in the estuary, from nudibranchs to plankton. After some much needed cool drinks, we moved on over to Meyer’s Point Environmental Field Station. Here teachers got to dissect an oyster, learn about Indigenous archeology, experience forestry practices, and make a yummy seaweed salad!
To our community partners and volunteers, thank you! It is an honor to work with so many people who are just as excited as us to teach and learn about our environment.
See you next school year!