Nine grantees across Washington State engaged educators, professionals, and youth in career-related exploration through field STEM experiences, focusing on youth typically under-represented in STEM. This session will share the resulting outcomes, replicable strategies, and useful resources for implementation. Programs include forestry, fishery management, green building, environmental engineering, and water resource management.

Learn about a Green Schools program that partners schools with their local government to increase environmental literacy in the community. It provides educators with resources to connect classroom concepts with the city where students live. Partners will share strategies to increase local environmental education opportunities and offer advice for collaborating with local schools.

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.

Biomimicry is an approach to innovation that develops sustainable design solutions by studying and applying functional strategies and patterns exhibited in nature. At a time when many students have a fractured relationship to nature, biomimicry-based learning offers a profound shift in how we view and value the natural world and an exciting context for teaching STEM and environmental literacy. This Bright Spot session featured the Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge (YDC), a free project-based learning program hosted by the Biomimicry Institute and pilot tested in spring 2018. The YDC challenges student teams to create biomimetic solutions to a climate change problem. Teachers are provided with a biomimicry design curriculum (co-authored with EcoRise) and a variety of other supports. Visit youthchallenge.biomimicry.org to register and learn more.

Learn how Chewonki leveraged a college level, skills-based workshop to support programming for under-resourced elementary students. Through a collaborative partnership with Unity College, career bound seniors receive authentic program development and teaching experience in the field of wildlife education, broadening the reach of environmental education in a rural community.

Whether we throw it, recycle it, or flush it AWAY, how do we inspire people to think about solid waste? In this hands-on workshop, we will connect participants to proven techniques in teaching about solid waste issues and the importance of saving our natural resources.