Summer Institute for Teachers 2025
Climate Resilience: Ecology & Community in South Puget Sound
June 23, 24, 25 2025
Day 1
Keynote: Hope and Resilience in the Midst of Adversity | Erik Neatherlin, Director of the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office
Morning Break Out Sessions:
- King Tides Curriculum: Nicole Naar | Washington Sea Grant
- Climate Literacy Integration: Lori Henrickson | Climate Science Integration Specialist, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Seaweed Pressing: Gray McKenna | WA Department of Natural Resources
- Kelp Forest Engineering Challenge: Sheila Wilson | Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
Speaker: Community Science and Pigeon Guillemot as an Indicator Species | Shannon Boldt, Salish Sea Guillemot Network
Afternoon Break Out Sessions
- Ecosystem Journalism: John Williams | Still Hope Productions/Salish Magazine
- Outdoor Training Leadership Program: MJ Mahan | Washington Trails Association
- First Aid Plants Workshop: Charlie Sittingbull | Teacher, North Thurston Public Schools
- Community, Collaborative Art, and ClimaMatter: Heidi Yerrington | Teacher, North Thurston Public Schools
Speaker: The Sounders Gray Whales: An Example of Resiliency and Adaptation to New Challenges Faced by Gray Whales | Alex Vandezee, Cascadia Research Collective
Day 2- Field Trip to Anderson Island
Andy’s Marine Park Beach Exploration
- Shellfish of Puget Sound: Margaret Homerding, Nisqually Indian Tribe | Aimee Christy and Mary Elizabeth Bissell, Pacific Shellfish Institute
- Pigeon Guillemot Spotting: Shannon Boldt | Salish Sea Guillemot Network
- Wrack Line Survey: Stephanie Bishop | Thurston Conservation District
- Anderson Island Historical Society
- South Oro Bay Nisqually Land Trust Site
Breakout Sessions
- The Land Ethic – Past, Present, Possible: Davy Clark | Nisqually River Education Project
- Waste Relay: Aimee Christy and Mary Elizabeth Bissell | Pacific Shellfish Institute
- Biodiversity Survey: Stephanie Bishop | Thurston Conservation District
Day 3
Speaker: Emotional Resilience | Julia Pinnix, Visitor Services Manager, Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Activity: Ecological Forestry & Tree Benefit Calculator | Davy Clark, Nisqually River Education Project
Speaker: Wild Grief: Walking with you on your grief journey | Monica Anney, Wild Grief
Breakout Sessions
- Lunchbox Heroes: April Roe | Thurston County Public Works
- Wildlife Tracking: Ryan Johnson | Firecraft Northwest
- Beavers: Ecosystem Engineers: Joe Mouser | Beavers Northwest
- The Evolution of the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail: Patricia Green, Squaxin Island Tribe’s Salish Roots Farm | Lourdes Flores, Pacific Education Institute