By Carrie Ziegler* with Abby Ruskey, Frank Hein, and Barb MacGregor

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“For thousands of years our Tribes have understood that respect for our Mother, the Earth,
guides us on the path to sustainability. In every decision you make, consider the impact
it will have on our children and their children, for seven generations.”

-- Billy Frank, Jr., Chairman, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and
Honorary Co-chair of E3 Washington

Up, up and away!

The atmosphere was charged with excitement as people began arriving early on the morning of September 22, 2006. The site was the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. In this state-of-the art facility set in old town Tacoma and with a view of Mt. Rainier, Washington’s environmental education (EE) leaders, students, and stakeholders made EE history.

As we entered, we were greeted by friendly event planners and volunteers. Acoustic music filtered through the air and everywhere we looked, we were surrounded by colorful E3 branded banners with quotes and by EE exhibitors from every region of the state including six groups of middle and high school students. Altogether more than 250 geographically, professionally, and culturally diverse people from across Washington came to learn about and participate in strengthening the network for environmental education.

Barb MacGregor and Frank Hein
display E3 banners.

The excitement surrounding the launch was palpable and continued throughout the Advisory Council meeting and launch event. E3’s honorary co-chairs Governor Chris Gregoire, William Ruckelshaus, and Billy Frank, Jr., were joined in the afternoon by Sally Jewell, CEO of REI; Dr. Terry Bergeson, Superintendent of Public Schools; Doug Sutherland, Commissioner of Public Lands; and Belinda Chin, Supervisor of Seattle's Carkeek Park & Environmental Learning Center.

Honorary Co-chairs and speakers look on as Wa He Lut Indian School
students dance their way to the stage. At head table from left:
Billy Frank, Jr., Doug Sutherland, Terry Bergeson, Belinda Chin,
Sally Jewell, Gov. Chris Gregoire, and Bill Ruckelshaus.

By day’s end, Advisory Council members and other participants had completed commitment forms for their role in seeing E3 through to strategy completion and implementation. The media event panel also spoke of their commitment to the goals and their hopes for E3 Washington. Stated Governor Gregoire, “I pledge to be a champion for environmental education as co-chair for E3 Washington. Environmental education offers hope of success for kids, parents, schools, and communities—and our future.”

Why E3 Washington? Why Now? What’s Different?

Environmental education is fundamental to creating thriving environments, economies, and educational opportunities for all Washington State residents, communities, and businesses. However, EE efforts in the state are currently under-funded and fragmented without a coherent strategy to link and leverage resources for an articulated system of life-long learning in environmental and sustainability education. But there is good news. That news comes in the form of a significant and long overdue effort to create a set of strategies for environmental education across the state and to energize practitioners and supporters everywhere.

A commitment to diversity, integration, and leadership is what sets E3 apart. For instance, the state E3 Advisory Council members, who met in the morning, are leaders from across the state and were carefully selected to represent the regional, professional, and cultural diversities of Washington State. Even with this concerted effort on the front end, continuous efforts and evaluation of steps to ensure diversity at every level will be needed.

Afternoon panel speaker Belinda Chin described how marginalized communities can be engaged and empowered within the E3 context. Stated Chin, “The environmental justice movement can assist mainstream environmental education (EE) by expanding EE’s reach to diverse allies, adding different perspectives to the brain trust of community problem solving. Mainstream EE can help the environmental justice movement by using EE’s power and privilege to make room for unheard voices at the mainstream decision-making table.”

Another important sector that E3 has prioritized is the business community. Business leader and E3 Co-chair Bill Ruckelshaus noted, “Increasingly, surveys show that Americans don’t understand the natural systems we depend on for our water, air, and food. We must raise our ‘environmental literacy’ rate if we are to meet the complex challenges of natural resource allocation and globalization.” Frank Hein, EEAW president-elect and Program and Education Technology Manager at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, stated, “Residents should be aware of at least the basics of the environment so that they can foster economies that do not just perform…but do so sustainably.”

E3 is a great mix of grass-roots regional activity, the leadership of key people in influential positions, endorsements at every level, and guidance from the statewide Advisory Council and Steering Committee coordinated by the Environmental Education Association of Washington (EEAW).

Advisory Council Morning Input

A continental breakfast, a welcome by Heath Packard, EEAW president and Policy Director of Washington Audubon, and comments by Tribal representative Denny Hurtado from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction started off the day. Abby Ruskey, EEAW’s Executive Director, then led the group through the morning agenda which entailed an orientation to E3 Washington by Frank Hein.

After E3 background information was covered, the Tacoma-Pierce County Leadership team gave a presentation about the E3 local pilot event they hosted; it was the first of 18 local summits. The information from these summits will be used to generate the local plans. This part of the program was invaluable to those in attendance who are, or will be, working on local plans within their own regions. The input and commitment of local leaders toward the completion of E3 is absolutely essential.

After the Tacoma-Pierce presentation, it was time for everyone to get to work. Participants met in small groups and took part in three activities. The first activity asked leaders, including student representatives, to envision the outcomes of the statewide plan and to give their personal vision for environmental education in Washington. State Advisory Council Member Rhonda Hunter stated, “It’s important to have a common vision of a sustainable future for us all and to help create and articulate that vision. That’s the goal we’re all working towards.” Common visions included ideas related to a) collaboration and linkages, b) diversity, c) integration, and d) networking.

To bring the discussion down to the experiential level of participants, the groups were asked to name and describe an exemplary EE program and to provide information about characteristics that make the program outstanding. Some common characteristics included the following:

• Focus on the audience and its needs/interests
• Strong connections between the EE experience and real life (children and classroom, adults and their homes, government and citizens – how does this apply to me?)
• Different professional groups collaborating with each other (e.g., subject area teachers – science and language arts, government and homeowners, business and government) in the effort to educate effectively.
• Partnerships and alliances strengthening and enriching programs
• Engaging and enjoyable for students and educators

Model programs with these types of characteristics will continue to be identified and promoted through the E3 process. As a final activity for the Advisory Council meeting, participants completed commitment forms indicating the level of leadership they were interested in providing, suggestions for involving others, and more. Warren Moon, Executive Director of Wilderness Awareness School, became involved with E3 after the September 22 event. He gave his commitment to E3 by filling out a commitment form and stating, “I definitely want Wilderness Awareness School involved in E3. I love that Washington State is taking a lead in EE and I strongly support the initiative put forward by E3.”

The input from these activities is very important to the E3 planning process but the connections people made during the activities were just as important. Through sharing, envisioning, and committing support to the E3 effort, EE networks were strengthened. Those connections were deepened over an excellent Mexican Fiesta lunch and throughout the rest of the day.

The Afternoon Celebration and Media Event

Cameras clicked and video rolled as Governor Chris Gregoire, Honorary Co-chair of E3, walked into the room. Her excitement for and commitment to EE was apparent as she walked with other dignitaries through the exhibit area and learned about projects that students from across the state have been working on.

Honorary Co-chairs Governor Chris Gregoire and Bill Ruckelshaus listen to
student presentaions as they enter the auditorium.

Honorary Co-chair Billy Frank, Jr.,
speaks at the afternoon event.

The Governor took her seat on stage with the other afternoon speakers including E3 Washington Honorary Co-chairs William D. Ruckelshaus and Billy Frank, Jr., Chairman of the NW Indian Fisheries Commission. Also present on stage were: Dr. Terry Bergeson, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Belinda Chin, Supervisor of Seattle Carkeek Park & Environmental Learning Center; and Doug Sutherland, Commissioner of Public Lands at the Department of Natural Resources. They, along with the rest of the audience, watched with great admiration as Wa He Lut Indian School students, dressed in beautiful native costume, performed some of their traditional dances. This was followed with tribal blessings by Connie McCloud of the Puyallup Tribe and Deb Abrahamson of the Spokane Tribe.

Connie McCloud, Puyallup Tribe, and Deb Abrahamson, Spokane Tribe, offer blessings at afternoon ceremonies

Master of Ceremonies and REI CEO, Sally Jewel, introduced Governor Chris Gregoire as “…a woman who is leaving us with a legacy of conservation.” During her speech, Governor Gregoire spoke of the need for the state to focus on the environment, citing that our state’s population has grown by 3.5 million people in the past 50 years and is expected to double again in the next 50 years. She stated that, “Environmental education can help us sustain landscapes and livelihoods in the face of enormous population growth.”

The Governor also spoke of the importance of real life education for our students. “One reason that students drop out of high school is because they don’t make the connection between school and the real world of families, jobs, and societies.” EE has been shown to make those connections. Governor Gregoire said that EE is also crucial for the successes of some of the most important environmental initiatives in the state, such as the Puget Sound Partnership.

Another speaker of the day was honorary Co-chair William Ruckelshaus, first Director of the U.S. EPA and well known and respected business leader. He spoke of the need for people to reconnect with nature and the resources they need for survival. Superintendent Bergeson spoke about the efforts of her office through her environmental and sustainability education initiatives and her support of E3 while Commissioner Sutherland educated the group about extensive lands managed by the Department of Natural Resources and his department’s educational initiatives.

In her closing statements, Sally Jewel captured the essence of the afternoon. Stated Jewel, “We all started this afternoon by being inspired by our dancers and our friends from the Puyallup and Spokane tribes and they helped us frame our commitment to nature and how important it is. We heard from the Governor (and Bill Ruckelshaus) that the population in the state of Washington will get bigger. We’re urbanizing as a population, we’re moving closer to our bodies of water and as we just heard from Billy [Frank, Jr.] our bodies of water are in trouble and we need to do something about that. The way we do that is by educating people and of course that starts, just as with recycling, with our young people. We heard from Belinda [Chin] about the importance of engaging all of our populations in this effort. You can think of EE as a virtuous cycle that is paying attention to our environment, educating our young people, engaging them in the outdoors and nature which leads to a healthier lifestyle in which young people are not only aware, but some that will dedicate themselves to the kind of work that you all do.”

Stated E3 Coordinator Abby Ruskey, “The E3 Washington launch was a huge success thanks to the inspiring state leaders who spoke today, the E3 sponsors, the E3 Advisory Council, the E3 Washington Steering Committee, the EEAW board, staff, and consultant support, the Pierce County regional E3 team, and the youth leaders who participated and shine a light for all of us, including the Wa-He-Lut School in Nisqually and student groups from Spokane, Tacoma, Tumwater, Vancouver, Sedro Woolley, Wenatchee, and Lake Forest.” Cassandra Decaies, a high school student from Entiat, WA, and participant in the launch, declared that, “We are doing everything for the good. We are trying to learn how to better use and respect the land and animals around us.” The future does look bright indeed with a starting team like this and knowing that many more will get involved across the state in the months and years ahead.

Where from Here for E3 Washington?

From the establishment of a state-wide EE network and with the backing of state leaders, E3 Washington is already well on its way. When all is said and done in early 2008, one statewide and 18 local plans will have been created. These plans and the regional leadership needed to inform and approve them are being developed by people like you and me.

Be sure to mark November 8-10 in your calendars as this will be the dates for EEAW’s 17th annual conference. This promises to be THE conference to bring the education, environment, and economy threads together into exciting and informative discussions and strategies for a new and inspired approach for how we do the business of environmental education in our state. We hope to see you there!

If you would like to be involved in the statewide and/or your local region planning process, please click CommitForm to complete the E3 Commitment Form or contact EEAW directly at info@eeaw.org or 360-943-6643. A full-length video of the E3 launch event, media coverage, and the speeches of many of the speakers can be found on the site.

*Carrie Ziegler is an Olympia-based environmental educator who coordinates the YMCA Earth Service Corps Program, is a member of the Thurston/Mason County E3 Steering Committee, and is an EEAW Special Projects Assistant.