(From left to right): Tara Luckie, ESC Executive Director, Dave Upthegrove, King County council-member and Larry Reymann, ESC Board President, along with Lake Wilderness first graders during the Beach Heroes event.[/caption] Burien’s Environmental Science Center recently received a $50,000 King County WaterWorks grant to fund two years of their Salmon Heroes program. King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove visited the center in Seahurst Park to commemorate this opportunity. Upthegrove is he was especially excited to see the environmental science opportunities in South King County grow as a result of this grant. The Salmon Heroes program is a three-part, five-hour education and stewardship project which uses project-based learning to train the next generation of environmental leaders on water quality issues. The main objectives are: to improve stewardship attitudes to protect and restire water quality in salmon habitats, including Puget Sound; and increase knowledge and understand of watershed issues in underserved areas of Renton, Kent and South Seattle to ensure future sustainability of natural resources in critical watershed areas. Salmon Heroes will serve 50 classes and reach over a thousand students over the next two years. One hundred percent of teachers strongly agreed the field study was effective in providing their students with opportunities to follow the scientific process. Assessments show that 89% of students demonstrated an increase in knowledge about salmon stewardship. “The class had a great morning learning about salmon habitat, life cycle and anatomy. Thanks for all you do for passing along the stewardship message,” said Laura Holmes, teacher at Westside School, commenting on the Salmon Heroes program. “The more they hear it from a variety of people, the better for the kids.” The Environmental Science Center promotes environmental stewardship and academic achievement through science-based education, serving South King County since 2000. More info at http://envsciencecenter.org]]>

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One reply on “Burien's Environmental Science Center receives $50,000 WaterWorks grant”

  1. Pretty terrific looking kids! So good to hear of money for this program to educate kids about our salmon and the part we play in the future of their survival.

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