Forestry Internships: Career Connected Learning for Youth at Risk

Conference:

2018 Conference: Spokane, Washington

Strand:

Green Schools and Career-Connected Learning

Abstract

The Eastern Washington Forestry Internship program is a partnership between Eastern Washington Workforce Development Council and Stevens County Conservation District to delliver quality FieldSTEM programming to youth at risk. FieldSTEM refers to the process of using STEM principles in environmental science as developed by Dr. Margaret Tudor of Pacific Education Institute. FieldSTEM insists that STEM is possible if not better outdoors because of the connections to the community and opportunities for place based learning that are relevant to the learner. In the case of these internships, many students don't choose college and get stuck in poverty simply because they don't want to leave the area, their families, their community. Creating internships shows these youth the possibilities within forestry and natural resources and provides pathways for them to choose a career with a living wage.