Our professional development opportunities, including courses, workshops, and individualized supports, are designed to support powerful, equity-based learning experiences that connect to students’ lives and communities.
Associated with our Bainbridge Island campus educational program, our in-depth Learn site is typically used by graduate students as a resource to help them engage students in critical thinking, scientific investigations, and stewardship of their communities and planet.
Activities, songs, and exercises to help inspire students to explore their own neighborhoods and communities while strengthening observation and investigation skills and deepening ecological knowledge.
We strongly believe that education must be relevant, responsive, and accountable to the places and people we serve. The following are just a few of the articles and resources that our educators have been finding useful in their own work towards ensuring that our programs are equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist.
Culturally responsive teaching and learning influences every aspect of our educational philosophy and practices. We spoke with three of our educators about why this approach is so important and what it looks like at IslandWood. Click below to read that conversation, dive into examples of culturally responsive learning activities, and get a book and resource list.
IslandWood Graduate Program Director Dr. Déana Scipio and Urban School Programs Educator Laura Brown recently co-authored a STEM Teaching Tools resource as part of the University of Washington Institute for Science + Math Education’s widely-used STEM Teaching Tools series. The resource explores considerations, recommendations, and questions for environmental educators looking to practice intersectional environmentalism.
Community Waters, our highly-regarded 4th grade science curriculum, has been used by teachers throughout the region and the country to guide students in solving real community environmental problems, deepening their knowledge, and engaging in science in socially-relevant ways.
In our School Overnight Program, we’ve seen firsthand the power that gardening has to help children foster social and emotional well-being, gain a greater understanding of ecological principles, develop problem-solving skills, and explore issues of food equity and stewardship.
Lead your students on a self-guided exploration of the Brightwater Education Center, attached to the state-of-the-art Brightwater Wastewater Treatment Center. Watch guided videos of 14 key locations around Brightwater and follow along with brief activities and lessons about stormwater, wetlands, wildlife observation, and more along the way!
Follow along with our educators and docents as they share phenological highlights – examples of seasonal change – that they have been noticing in the natural world each week. We’ve heard from several teachers that these videos have helped them encourage their students to explore the natural world around them while learning remotely, and we hope you find inspiration in them too!
Join IslandWood Urban School Programs educator Celina Steiger for a virtual exploration of the Piper’s Creek Watershed in northwest Seattle. The video highlights the watershed’s stormwater infrastructure, makes connections between human behaviors and salmon health, and gives recommendations for stewarding our region’s waterways.
Offered in partnership with NaturePlay, the Nature Passport app (available for both mobile and web use) is filled with activities to encourage children to explore and engage with the natural environments around them – from backyards, to forests, to city parks, and everything in between. Designed for both families and classrooms, be sure to check out tips for using the app with your students!
Check out this video with your students to see whether you can identify these 13 species who have been roaming our woods! This video also provides the perfect jumping-off point to learn more about the animals in your students’ own neighborhoods and communities.
