King County has partnered with IslandWood to bring our four-hour programs to the Brightwater Education Center in Woodinville. Our goal is to bring classroom learning to life, engaging students in experiential and project-based fieldwork that appeals to diverse learning styles. Programs are provided at no cost to schools and free transportation is available for those with 35% or greater FRL.
We ask all schools to provide their own transportation to and from our programs. However, we have limited funding to provide free transportation through King County’s Wheels to Water Program. To qualify, your school must be at a minimum 35% free and reduced lunch rate as per OSPI.
Our Brightwater programs are currently full for the 2024-25 school year. Program registration for the 2025-26 school year will open in May!
Freshwater Ecosystems Field Study for 3rd–6th Grades
In this field program, students investigate the role of freshwater ecosystems in their communities. They develop an understanding of who and what lives in and around our ponds, how people use, impact, and change them, and how the ponds help us manage stormwater. This program incorporates Next Generation Science Standards.*
As part of their day, students will use science practices to:
As a result of the program, students will be able to:
Humans and the Water Cycle Program for 4th–6th Grades
What happens when we “borrow” water from the water cycle? What happens to this borrowed water after we use it in our homes, schools and businesses? In this program, students will learn how the choices they make on a daily basis impact the water cycle. Students experience the wastewater treatment plant firsthand and see how engineers have designed a system to clean our water and protect human and environmental health. This program is designed for classes that are studying human impacts on the water cycle, wastewater, water use and urban infrastructure. This program involves a tour of the Treatment Plant and is only for students aged 9 and up. Hard hats and vests will be provided for students. Closed-toe shoes are required for this program.
As part of their day, students will:
As a result of the program, students will be able to:
Stormwater Engineers Field Study for 4th–6th Grades
In this field program, students actively engage in the engineering design process to tackle stormwater engineering problems. Students will use models of the landscape to identify stormwater problems, research the innovative work that engineers did around the treatment plant and then return to their models to test possible solutions. This program is designed for classes that are studying erosion, deposition, stormwater, and environmental engineering.
During the day, students will use an Engineering Design Process to:
As a result of this program, students will be able to:
Please note: This program DOES NOT include a treatment plant tour.
IslandWood is proud to partner with King County to provide exceptional learning experiences at the Brightwater Education Center, a state-of-the-art facility attached to King County’s newest and most innovative wastewater treatment plant in Woodinville.
For information about renting the Brightwater Center meeting rooms, or to set up a tour of King County’s state-of-the-art treatment plant, please visit the county’s Brightwater Center Webpage.
Registration for the 25-26 school year will open in May! As part of our commitment to increasing equitable access to our programs for historically underserved schools, registration will open on a tiered system based on the low-income/free-and-reduced lunch percentage of your school.
Programs are provided at no cost to schools and free transportation is available for those with 35% or greater free and reduced lunch rates. They are designed to last for four hours and can accommodate a maximum of 60 students.
If you’d like to get more information please contact Kim Zemel at [email protected].
To qualify to participate in our Brightwater Education programs, your school must fall within the boundaries of this map. Either within a 10-mile radius of the Brightwater Education Center or within the King County water treatment division service area.
For questions about the program please contact Alexei Desmarais at [email protected].
Check out 4th grade students from Lake Stickney Elementary School participating in our Freshwater Ecosystems program.
IslandWood acknowledges that the land on which we gather is within the ancestral territory of the suqʷabš “People of Clear Salt Water” (Suquamish People). Expert fisherman, canoe builders and basket weavers, the suqʷabš live in harmony with the lands and waterways along Washington’s Central Salish Sea as they have for thousands of years. Here, the suqʷabš live and protect the land and waters of their ancestors for future generations as promised by the Point Elliot Treaty of 1855. While the majority of our work takes place on Suquamish and Duwamish (dxʷdɐwʔabʃ) land, we also conduct programs on the land of the Snohomish (sduhúbʃ), Puyallup (spuyaləpabš), Muckleshoot (buklshuhls), Skokomish (sqoqc’bes), and S’Klallam (nəxʷsƛ̕ay̕əm) peoples.
IslandWood is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Our tax ID number is 31-1654076.
4450 Blakely Ave. NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 206.855.4300