EarthGen (Formerly Washington Green Schools)

STEM Seminars

In partnership with ESD 112, EarthGen created STEM Seminars, a “best practice” in professional development, where teachers are challenged to engage in adult learning around climate change locally. A “hook” is used to kick off the day and anchor learning around a local environmental issue. The training balances content around how we know the climate is changing with Ambitious Science Teaching strategies. At each seminar, teachers analyze current and vetted data with climate scientists who have first-hand experience conducting research in Antarctica and Greenland. As a complement to this elevated educational experience, a local speaker specializing in the topic at hand speaks to the regional perspective of the climate challenge being addressed and discuss approaches to mitigate and adapt to climate change locally. Structured planning time is also embedded into the day to allow for application of what has been learned into the classroom. In its inaugural year, EarthGen served 370 teachers through STEM Seminars.

Migrant Education Summer Program

Working with school districts with high migrant student populations and low-income rates, EarthGen created a new summer experience for the Migrant Education Program in Grandview, Prosser, and Kiona-Benton school districts. The program included leveraging lessons from Zombie Guacamole, a 5th grade curriculum about decomposition, ecosystems, and waste, while introducing a digital storytelling component that captured and shared student voices. Field experiences to the local landfill and arboretum also helped create a rich and highly relevant summer school experience for nearly 100 migrant youth.

Zombie Guacamole

With connections to our food choices and their effects on climate change, EarthGen is working to create professional development opportunities for primary school teachers using Zombie Guacamole, a NGSS-driven curriculum for 5th grade. Connecting these lessons to school grounds and gardens and food waste behaviors, these full-day and multi-day experiences will connect what teachers learn in these trainings to their classrooms…and out onto the school campus where they and their students can take action to promote environmental sustainability.