By Annitra Peck
NSEA Program Director

In 2018, Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee, pushed for a $4 million proviso to support climate science in education. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in partnership with the University of Washington offered climate science grants to community-based organizations to host “ClimeTime” teacher workshops focused on Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), climate science, outdoor education strategies and an increased emphasis on traditional ecological knowledge through indigenous partnerships. Four local Whatcom County organizations- Common Threads, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA), Wild Whatcom, and Re-Sources collaboratively received a ClimeTime grant to develop and lead professional development teacher training workshops for elementary educators. Additional partners included Lummi Natural Resources, Northwest Indian College, and Northwest Educational Service District 189.

In reflection, over the past three years of funding, 109 teachers have completed a long-term series of trainings throughout the school year. While the structure of each of year has been different, trainings were primarily hosted at either NSEA’s campus or at various elementary school grounds totaling an average of 20 hours of accredited professional development time per educator. Trainings were facilitated outdoors, allowing teachers the opportunity to recognize the value in utilizing their school grounds to connect students to their sense of place and the science for increased understanding of our changing climate. All lessons shared with teachers were place-based, centered around local environmental issues, and co-facilitated by indigenous representatives. Throughout the series of workshops, teachers participated in a carbon cycle game where they became the carbon molecules and rotated through interactive lessons on soil erosion prevention, ocean acidification, forest successions, and fish population dynamics in the Salish Sea, all while building their skills in NGSS performance expectations and outdoor classroom management. Each participant received a modest stipend and a tool kit to continue their pursuit.

Data collected from participants show that 94-97% said they will incorporate climate science into their classrooms after attending and 97.5% of teachers said they plan to incorporate the outdoors in their instruction with students post workshop. Numerous teachers commented, “ I loved the way that each workshop incorporated models that changed with different environmental scenarios. [The models] relate to the environment in which we live, things students can actually observe and witness the impacts of. It’s been very helpful for us teachers to see how a model can be implemented and presented without having to leave our school grounds and the expense and logistical challenges that this presents”.  NSEA, along with the other partners are gearing up to apply for continued funding to build on this work. In the meantime, check out the Climetime blog to read more success stories about this work. https://www.climetime.org/category/grantees/nooksack-salmon-ea/