Youth Education - A Look Back at 2018

By the Youth Education Committee

2018 was a busy year for the Youth Education Committee (YEC) as our records show that we worked with 1000 students and 790 adults. Quite an accomplishment for a small committee! We began the year participating in Molbak’s Cabin Fever where our bird mounts lured families into our booth. Children created colorful bookmarks while volunteers talked about the wonderful world of birds and encouraged parents to get out into nature. We continued our outreach programs in a variety of settings, including Bridle Trails, Swamp Creek and Lewis Creek Parks. Then we extended our wings and landed in the country at Carnation Farm Days and Oxbow Farms for several events. Everyone benefits when we partner with outstanding organizations such as these.

Through our school programs, we generally reach elementary school-age students. This year, however, we stretched a bit and worked with three classes of preschoolers, even taking them on a successful bird watching trip at Juanita Bay Park. At the same location, secondary students from LEAD Prep School enjoyed a walk with EAS’s expert birders. Most of the time, however, we spent in classrooms like Lockwood Elementary in Bothell where a volunteer spent six days with one class on a variety of topics: journaling, bird sketching, the nature of a bird, labeling bird body parts and drawing feathers. The highlight, of course, was a walk at Juanita Bay Park. Lucky students! We journey with our bird mounts and lesson plans to wherever children are found—an after-school program at Kenmore Library, a Sunday family gathering at a local church, or a private school in Medina.

Thanks to members’ generous donations, the YEC awarded college scholarships of $1500 each to two outstanding students and teacher grants of $450 each to two teachers from low-income schools for garden projects. You have already read in the Corvid Crier about these awards. In addition, we sponsored four students to attend the Ground to Sound STEM Environmental Challenge Camp located on the Brightwater campus. All because of your donations to EAS!

Thanks to our committee members who give so graciously of their time and talent: Jill Keeney, Margaret Lie, Diane Crestanello, Margie Huff, Carol Matheson, Leslee Shepler, Tora Roksvog, Pam Gunther, Ramya Vaidehi, Barbara Picat.

YEC vision statement: The Youth Education Committee envisions a world where children are inspired to connect to nature and especially to birds so that they become lifelong stewards of the environment.

Mary Britton-Simmons