1. Connecting Community and the Environment
By Haley Rutherford
There isa growinginterestthesedaystowardscommunitybasedenvironmentaleducation- the ideathatone can
use nature as a tool forprovidingsustainable solutionstourbansocietal problems.The ideahere isthatthese
solutionsnotonlyhelpthose livinginlow-income,inner-citycommunitiesbutalsothe healthof the planet
(communitygardensisone example of asolutioncommonlyimplementedinSeattletoaddressfoodsecurity
needsandrunoff.) Manyenvironmentalistsfollow the understandingthatone cannotcare forsomethingif they
do notlove it,and cannotlove itunlesstheyknow it;howeverthere isa misunderstandingastoappropriately
showthe natural worldto those whopresumablyhave alotof otherpressingproblemsintheirlives. AsCarl
Anthony,founderandexecutivedirectorof Urban HabitatProgram, said inan interviewforYes!Magazine;
“In the innercities,the problemisthatpeoplehave tendedtosee jobsand economicdevelopmentasa
social,political,andeconomicissue,andnotas an environmental issue.Andenvironmentaliststendto
see theirissuesasbeingseparate fromthe social andracial justice issues.Butactually,theyare operating
inthe same universe…Tothe extentthatwe can begintosee thatthere isa strongrelationshipbetween
protectingthe natural worldandbringingthe beautyof nature back intocities,anddevelopinghealthier
racial and social institutionsandattitudes,thenthe twointerestscanbe aligned…We don’thave the
luxuryof pretendingwe are notall connected.”
One way toshowthis connectionistoopenthe eyesof childrentothe nature intheircitiesandneighborhoods.
IslandWood,a“school inthe woods”on Bainbridge Island,is takingthisfirststep. Heavyawardsandscholarships
are appliedtoeveryschool basedonthe percentage of free- andreduced-rate lunchessothateverystudentgets
a chance to experience nature through IslandWoodsweek-longovernightprogram for4th
graders.Inadditionto
the maincampus,IslandWoodalsoextends itsreachtoWoodinvillethroughprograms atthe Brightwater
WastewaterTreatmentFacilityandSeattlewith the HomewatersProgram.WhileBrightwaterservesschoolsin
Kingand SnohomishCounty,Homewatersservesthe Seattle School Districtalmostexclusively.
Originallydesignedasthe ThorntonCreekProject almost20 yearsago,Homewaters’goal wasto take studentsto
a creekin theirneighborhoodtolearnaboutandexperience itfora day.Now we offerthree programsat four
differentcreeks,amyriadof parks,and all school propertiesthatconnect directlytothe science units4th
and 5th
gradersare studying.We strive tomake science more accessible,improve science learning,andincrease
environmental awarenessandstewardship.Homewatersserveseveryschool nomatterwhattheycan pay,
providingapositive nature experience forstudentswhohave sometimesneverevenseenacreekorground
beetle.
For Homewaters’LandandWater Program,we go to creeksinneighborhoodsnearschoolsandeducate students
aboutwater qualityusingthe lensof the salmon.One dayinsouthSeattle atTaylorCreek(Lakeridge Park),Ihad
finishedafewminutesearlywithone of the lessonsandhadtime to kill before switchingwithanotherinstructor.
As we walkedInoticedall of the bigleaf maple leavesscatteredonthe trail.Mostof these leavesshowed
evidence of zombiefungus-afungi thatlookslike adark, speckledareaonthe leaf andisusuallyaboutdime-
sized.Iexplainedtothe studentswalkingnearme thatit keepsthe areaof the leaf aroundit healthy(andgreen!)

2. so that itcan feedoff the energysuppliedbythe chlorophyll.Simpleandbrief asitwas,the joy expressedbyone
of my kiddosas he exclaimedthathe didn’tknow thatbefore withwide-eyeswasquite fulfilling.
Later that day,I had a conversationwithayoungboywho washavingsome problemswithkidsmakingfunof him
at school.He hadall day beenthe firstone with a handup to answermyquestionsandseemedtobe distantfrom
the rest of the group. Aftertalkingforsome time aboutthe unitandlessons,he openeduptome aboutbeing
ridiculedandIsharedsome of my ownexperienceswithhim.Iwasremindedthatday of the incredibleeffect
natural environmentshave onpeople,youngchildreninparticular.Bybeingasupportive adultinawelcoming
environment,he feltcomfortable enoughtohave anopenconversationwithme.
Althoughmostof my memorable momentsare intertwinedandsubtle,there are afew that standout,such as
these.The daysteachingcan sometimesblurtogethertothe pointthat I recognize onlythe feelingIgothearinga
student’scomment,soIam alsoluckyenoughtobe the one readingthe post-assessmentsreturnedtous.The
amountof exclamationpointsanddetailedsentencesrecallingwhattheyhadlearnedismemorable enough,but
afterlookingthroughthemall Iam proud tosay that well overhalf of the studentsshowedanincrease in
awareness- statingthatif theywere able tovisitacreekagaintheywouldwantto participate insome sortof
stewardshipaction.
For IslandWoods’HomewatersProgram,urbanenvironmental educationprovidedthroughschool is one of the
missinglinks inconnectingtonature.If we can show youththe impactshumanshave on theirlocal ecosystemsas
well ashowto helpthemselveswe are shapingagenerationthatwill haveenvironmentalstewardshipengrained
intotheirbeing. Torecognize the importance of providingthese experiencestomore thanjustthe studentswho
can affordit isa great leapforward.We must continue,asstewardsof thisearth,to involve ourcommunity.
HaleyRutherfordisanAmeriCorpsMemberservingatIslandWoodHomewatersProgramaftergraduatingfrom
WesternWashingtonUniversityinEnvironmentalScience andEnvironmental Educationandgoingthrough
IslandWood’sinternshipprogram.She ispassionate aboutchildrenandnature andthe connectionsbetweenour
bodiesandthe environment.Inthe future she hopestostartan organizationfocusedonbringingnature tourban
childrenasa preventativehealthandwellnessmeasure.
For more informationonIslandWoodandthe manyprogramsandeventsfacilitatedthroughoutthe year,goto
islandwood.orgorcontact Haleyat haleyr@islandwood.org.