Earth Day for K-12 Students and Puget Sound

OLYMPIA, Wash., April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pacific Education Institute and the Puget Sound Partnership will have over twenty school districts (25%) from around Puget Sound joining them at the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park to see how the Highline, Issaquah and Tahoma School districts, the Puget Sound Skills Center and non-formal educators teach and learn while working on behalf of Puget Sound.

What: Earth Day for K-12 Students and Puget Sound

Where: Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Park on Western Avenue

When: Earth Day April 22, 2010

As role models for the average citizen, TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TURN EVERY DAY INTO EARTH DAY. Highlights of the event include:

*High school students will present how they learn civic responsibility, complex science concepts and experience GREEN CAREERS while restoring one of Puget Sound's important shorelines.

* Students show how they restore habitat along the Duwamish River resulting in applied science experiences and a cleaner, better waterway for humans and wildlife.

*Elementary students tell how they turned the area around their school into a school "science lab" receiving an environmental award from King County.

Keynote speakers:

David Dicks, Executive Director Puget Sound Partnership will challenge attending school districts from around the Sound to let "showcase" school districts "lead the way" to meeting their academic goals while executing the "Four Priorities" deemed essential by the Puget Sound Partners.

Alan Burke, Deputy Supt. for K-12 Education, OSPI will emphasize that problem-solving "thinking students" are students preparing for 21st Century STEM careers.

Kathy Fletcher Executive director of the People for Puget Sound will commit her organization to helping the "Next Generation" become the long term decision-makers committed to taking today's solutions to Puget Sound's problems out to future generations.

Dr. Gordon Orians, President of the WA State Academy of Science, commits leadership from Washington's top scientists to help students conduct cutting-edge field investigations.

Taylor Shellfish Farms will offer "sample" shellfish from their farms to underscore why Earth Day is every day for their company.

Additional Partners: WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Forest Protection Association, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration  (NOAA), Islandwood, EPA, Seattle Aquarium, E3 (EEAW), Puget Sound Educational Service District, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Wilcox Farms, Weyerhaeuser Company, Association of WA School Principals, Washington Association of School Superintendents, Washington Education Association, and many more.

The Pacific Education Institute is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in Washington State that brings real world learning experiences to students.

SOURCE Washington Forest Protection Association