Leaders push a green education

Erica Palmer imagined she was making a presentation to her grandmother, not the governor.

The sixth-grader held that picture in her head as she explained Spanaway Elementary School’s gardening project to Gov. Chris Gregoire. An entourage of officials, assistants and cameras whirred behind her.

It worked, she reported afterward. She was nervous but got her message across.

Gregoire was at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center on Friday to begin a statewide environmental education initiative called E3 Washington.

A network of state and local agencies, businesses, tribes, foundations and learning institutions plans a yearlong initiative to increase environmental education in Washington schools. The effort is coordinated by the

Environmental Education Association of Washington.

The goal is to develop 18 local plans to strengthen programs in schools and to secure public and private support to implement them.

Gregoire said helping children understand environmental protection is the best way to maintain the state’s environmental quality as populations grow. For example, she said many people agree that Puget Sound looks beautiful on the surface.

“The bad news is, if you look an inch deep, it’s sick,” she said. “We have 6 million Washingtonians who don’t believe us.”

Nearly everyone living around Puget Sound feels an obligation to leave it healthy for the next generation, said William Ruckelshaus, former Environmental Protection Agency administrator. He was named head of the agency when it was created in 1970.

However, two-thirds incorrectly believe it’s already in good shape, he said.

“We’re going to have to understand what reaching out to the public really means,” Ruckelshaus said Friday. That will take money and support, which won’t come without environmental education, he said.

State Schools Superintendent Terry Bergeson said environmental education lets students use basic skills for critical thinking.

“They are not learning those skills as an end to themselves,” she said. “They are learning those skills so they can investigate the world we live in.”

Bergeson acknowledged to the conference of environmentalists that there isn’t always room for community-based projects in schools because of the focus on standardized tests.

“We’ll do our best to get you into the classroom,” she said.

At Spanaway Elementary, those efforts include a recycling project and the study of pollution in Spanaway Lake, said Stephanie Leisle, an environmental educator with Pierce County Public Works and Utilities. Both projects will be model endeavors as E3 Washington spreads programs to other schools, she said.

In the Square Foot Gardening project, Spanaway students harvested 550 pounds of vegetables last year to feed local families and people in need, student Erica Palmer said. The high-yield organic gardening method uses fewer resources, she said.

The whole school participates, with the leadership of 45 specially trained garden leaders.

“We help the little kids,” said sixth-grader Myrra Dvorak, “to make sure they don’t pull out things that they think are weeds but are really plants.”

Tara M. Manthey: 253-597-8646

tara.manthey@thenewstribune.com

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