09/04/2026
๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ข๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ - ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ
The SPR Environmental Education team would like to share our first monthly news update! August was a wonderful month for our team, with programs connecting communities of all ages to nature. From parks, wetlands, neighborhood centers, and schools across Seattle, our team reached hundreds of people with hands-on learning, outdoor skill-building, and meaningful opportunities for children and their families.
Here are some highlights from last month's programming:
๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ
Our Citywide EE staff ran Freshwater Fridays at Lake City Court in the North End, where kids used microscopes to examine water samples from Thornton Creek and Meadowbrook Ponds. They identified zooplankton and phytoplankton and invented new species like burgerplankton and pizzazoan.
๐๐ถ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ต ๐๐บ๐ณ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ
With an enthusiastic group of participants, we ran a fully registered nature walk at Myrtle Edwards Park. Participants learned about salmon habitat features built into the seawall, Coast Salish place history, prairie restoration work, raptor activity, eelgrass beds, winter waterfowl patterns, and tribal salmon-rearing practices. One especially fun moment was when participants learned how to identify bull kelp from the shoreline and spotted it along the walk. People kept shouting โbull kelp!โ in their excitement.
๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐๐ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ
With Outdoor Recreation unit teen interns (funded by the No Child Left Inside Grant), we explored the Maple School Ravine and the local ecosystem. We hiked to the Comet Lodge Cemetery for a flagging activity, trekked back to the ravine to do a non-native species inventory, and completed some tree monitoring. We also tried our hands at invasive species removal and harvested fruit from the community orchard. The teens were surprised that the ravine is not just a green space, but a public orchard that neighbors can access for food to take home.
๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ญ๐ถ๐ฃ
At Meadowbrook Community Centre, we invited Sunshine Social Club participants to explore Meadowbrook Park to look for beavers. We started out with beaver trivia and looked at items from the beaver box, such as a pelt, some wood, and a skull. We then headed outside to learn about beaver habitat and other kinds of animals that make their homes in ponds.
๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ โ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฑโ
Due to unhealthy air quality levels, we pivoted one of our outdoor Seattle World School field trips to an indoor bird day. It was still an exciting day with three different activity stations of watercolor painting, bird flight and paper airplane making, and bird bingo. Each station focused on vocabulary and English-language reinforcement as well as natural history and environmental science. The transition went smoothly and highlighted our staffโs ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
๐๐ช๐ต๐บ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ๐ด
We ran a variety of additional programs across Seattle, including a Youth Cooking Club at the International District Chinatown Community Center. We learned about invasive Himalayan blackberries and our local tailing blackberries and practiced plant identification. We played a game about how easily invasive plant species can take over a habitat, and then we went inside for a blackberry feast: blackberry spritzers, blackberry jam and blackberry thumbprint cookies!
At Camp Long, our Citywide EE staff ran a Family Campout in partnership with the Seattle Housing Authority and Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. Our staff welcomed seven families for an overnight campout, with activities ranging from soccer games, nature-inspired yoga, art stations, and a special performance with African drumming. To learn more about this program, please visit the Camp Long page: https://www.facebook.com/CampLong/
At the Aki Kurose Village, we had fun petting a taxidermy raccoon, talking about raccoon adaptations, and making our own raccoon masks. Our staff and summer interns also hosted nature booths at two major festivals, connecting with 350 people at the Duwamish River Festival and more than 500 at Big Day of Play. Three of our staff registered to attend the North American Association for Environmental Education Conference this October to upgrade their environmental stewardship and community-building skills.
๐๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ
We have a variety of exciting opportunities in late September and October for those who want to get involved:
โข Fall SUNGuide Training: August 29 โ September 26
โข Spawning Salmon of Dragonfly Park: October 10
