A thrum of excited voices fills the gymnasium at The Evergreen State College this Spring as hundreds of elementary and middle school students stream into bleachers with smiles on their faces, folders in their hands, and looks of anticipation for what the day will bring. Student MC’s Brady and Emmalin, from McLeary Middle School, welcome their peers and introduce local musician Dana Lyons to give the keynote address. Guitar in hand, Dana shares his passion for the environment through music that has the entire gym singing along as he welcomes students, chaperones, and educators alike to the 31st Annual Student GREEN Congress!
For over three decades delegates from schools located throughout our local watersheds have gathered each Spring for the Annual Student GREEN Congress. After classrooms have visited local streams and rivers to monitor the water’s health, eight delegates from each class are chosen to represent their school at this event designed to elevate student voices and inspire youth to move from data collection to becoming stewards of their watershed. This year, over 430 student delegates from 27 schools representing over 50 classrooms from throughout the Nisqually, Deschutes, and Chehalis watersheds came together on March 21st, 2024 at The Evergreen State College. Throughout the day these delegates celebrated their watersheds, shared their water quality data with one another, and took part in a diverse set of environmental workshops led by local community members and natural resource professionals.
After the welcoming ceremonies, all 430 student delegates split into 28 “State of the Rivers” sessions. These sessions, facilitated by community volunteers, are meant to guide students through the process of teaching and learning from one another about their water quality monitoring experience. In the weeks leading up to Congress, students worked in groups of four to create presentations introducing themselves, describing the water quality testing site near their school, and highlighting their water quality data. After practicing their presentations at school, students arrive at State of the Rivers ready to share their data with 12 other delegates. Through these sessions, students discuss and generate three “action projects” that they and their communities could take part in to improve watershed health. These project ideas are collected and compiled into the official top eight actions recommended by the entire delegation. The 2024 delegates’ top action recommendations include:
- Pick up trash / litter
- Plant trees
- Pick up pet waste
- Remove invasive plants
- Education
- Reduce fossil fuel use
- Recycle
- Prevent pollution
When all State of the Rivers sessions are complete, students rejoin their classmates and teachers for lunch across The Evergreen State College’s beautiful campus and receive visits from the college’s iconic mascot – Speedy the Geoduck. Following lunch, each student takes part in one of 26 workshops led by a variety of community organizations. These workshops offer a fun, hands-on way to deepen students’ connection to their local environment while meeting community role models. 2024 Workshops were led by Washington Department of Ecology, the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s Community Garden, Nisqually Indian Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources, LOTT, Wolf Haven International, the Olympia Mountaineers, Black Hills Audubon, Olympia Trout Unlimited, Pierce Conservation District, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, The Evergreen State College, Nisqually Reach Nature Center, and many more!
As the day draws to an end, all student delegates convene in the gym for a closing ceremony where student MC’s report on the top recommendations generated by the delegates and lead all students in the “Watershed Action Declaration” by pledging the following:
“I hereby resolve
To do things great or small
To improve the earth, it’s many ecosystems
It’s water, land and living things
And all its human hearts.
I promise I shall care,
To love and cherish all its gifts
With people everywhere“
The 31st Annual Student GREEN Congress adjourns and with its ending every student and teacher is gifted a young fir tree to be planted in their communities. These trees are generously donated by the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s “NET” (Nisqually Environmental Team). The following week, we reach out to student delegates to hear about their experience. When asked “What is one new thing you learned at Congress?” here’s what students has to say:
“That there are so many schools and groups working on water quality testing and that it is a big community”
“I learned that you can combine science and art together!”
“How Important the creeks are to our environment and how to take care of them”
“One thing that I learned was how important water is to all living things”
“That there are a lot more people helping the water than I thought”
“There is a lot of medicine in nature”
“How there are so many ways to recycle, like to make art out of trash”
“How to protect my watershed”
Thank you to everyone who made this year’s event possible! We believe in the power of outdoor learning and we already can’t wait for the 32nd Annual Student GREEN Congress!
Nisqually River Education Project, South Sound GREEN, and the Chehalis Basin Education Consortium are three sister environmental education programs which co-organize Student GREEN Congress. This event is made possible through the generous support of our faculty sponsor at Evergreen State College, Carri Leroy, as well as Student GREEN Congress sponsor Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife. Additional volunteer and financial support is provided by our many community partners. To learn more about how you can be involved in Student GREEN Congress, please contact Davy Clark, Nisqually River Education Project Program Director, davy@nisquallyriver.org.
