This project provides funding to nisqually river foundation to implement its project, which will design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices, methods, and techniques, that…

This project provides funding to nisqually river foundation to implement its project, which will design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices, methods, and techniques, that will serve to increase environmental literacy and encourage behavior that will benefit the environment in the nisqually river watershed. The grantee will do this by the salmon, cedar, canoe: fostering the next generation of nisqually tribal youth leaders project will adapt existing youth leadership models to specifically engage nisqually youth and illuminate paths towards potential careers in natural resource management, environmental education, and environment science fields. Activities:this project will increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental education within the nisqually indian tribe's reservation and nisqually watershed. In close cooperation with the nisqually tribal council and the greater nisqually tribal community, this pilot program will promote environmental stewardship of the nisqually watershed by connecting traditional ecological knowledge, community science, and behavior change while meeting state science standards and gaining youth high school career and technical education credits. The project takes place on the nisqually indian reservation and throughout the nisqually watershed, the current and ancestral homelands of the nisqually people including the towns and the school districts throughout thurston, pierce, and lewis counties. Project leaders will implement an inclusive process that brings together the diverse perspectives of the entire team to develop a meaningful program for the nisqually youth, the next generation of stewards in their community. This pilot program will aim to serve up to 30 nisqually tribal youth with five teachers and eight environmental educators involved in the development of the project. In addition to directly serving nisqually youth, the larger environmental education community will benefit from the development of trainings and curricular frameworks that better incorporate nisqually culture into a variety of environmental education program models.subrecipient:five subawards will be given to: one to a school district and four to nonprofit organizations to implement environmental education activities that contribute to the success of the project by providing consulting and guidance; participating in program development and review curriculum; and funding for teacher trainings and participation.outcomes:IT is anticipated that this project will result in the following deliverables: train the project team to increase their understanding of traditional ecological knowledge and social emotional skills; and engage 30 tribal youth in pilot programs the expected outcomes will benefit the staff by increasing regional awareness of traditional plants; and validate native ways of knowing including experiential learning and the transmission of knowledge through stories to teach the native youth in the program. The youth will feel connected to their traditional ecological knowledge and will have the social and emotional skills to tackle complex issues and problem solving. Youth will share their knowledge with their families and communities.