Pacific Education Institute

06/11/2026

Attention WA State certificated educators!
📍Earn 5 STEM Clock Hours: Free Seeds to Salmon (S2S) Curriculum Workshop

Workshop Details: Participants will receive 5 STEM clock hours
Attendance at BOTH sessions is required:
Wednesday, August 12th | 10 AM to 12 PM
Friday, August 14th | 9 AM to 12 PM

Join Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group to participate in a special S2S Curriculum Workshop focused on piloting and strengthening our newly revamped environmental education curriculum!
Participants will explore hands-on, classroom-ready lessons from the Seeds to Salmon curriculum series that can be directly implemented in educational settings. The curriculum is an open educational resource aligned with Washington State NGSS standards, designed to support engaging, place-based learning around salmon, watersheds, and environmental stewardship.
Location:
WSDOT SW Region Headquarters
11018 NE 51st Circle
Vancouver, WA 98682
Cost: Free!
Snacks and light beverages will be provided.
While STEM clock hours are available only for Washington State certificated educators, we warmly welcome any interested community educators, environmental educators, informal learning staff, and partners to attend.
RSVP is required to attend at the link below
https://forms.gle/PnEyRYavUVrCADQt7

06/10/2026

Interesting information about the growing demand for and the shortage of qualified applicants to fill them, courtesy of EarthDay.org.

"The green economy is generating millions of new jobs — but the workers trained to fill them aren’t keeping pace. According to LinkedIn data, job postings requiring at least one green skill are growing twice as fast as the number of workers who have those skills. That gap has real consequences, not just for the planet, but for workers, businesses, and economies navigating one of the biggest transitions in the history of work.

Efrem Bycer leads workforce and climate policy partnerships at LinkedIn, where he helps policymakers, employers, and workers understand and navigate the major shifts reshaping the world of work. EARTHDAY.ORG Director of Education Bryce C**n — who first connected with Bycer at COP climate conferences — sat down with him to talk about what the green skills gap means for everyday workers, which industries are changing fastest, and why the transition is proving more durable than the politics around it."

https://www.earthday.org/the-green-skills-gap-22-minutes-with-efrem-bycer/

The green economy needs millions of workers — but training isn’t keeping up. LinkedIn’s Efrem Bycer breaks down the green skills gap and what to do about it.

06/09/2026

In the 6th and final workshop with Northlake Elementary School, "Schoolyard Stewardship: Connecting Gardens, Students, and Community," we toured Northlake's garden, harvested asparagus and artichokes, and learned how they make their benches and set up summer community gardening days so plants get watered and harvested throughout the summer. We discussed the best watering methods, learned about how harvest is shared through community farm stands, enjoyed a wonderful meal provided by Steve the Rabbit and got to take home seeds and plants!

06/08/2026

In 1999, a national study found that 59% of Americans didn’t know what the term ‘watershed’ meant. Even today, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) notes that approximately 80% of Americans in urban areas are unaware of the networks of urban creeks and waterways that run through their communities.

Yet watersheds are vital to local ecosystems and community health. They function as natural filters for the water we drink and use for agriculture, prevent erosion and flooding and support biodiversity by providing habitats for wildlife.

On June 13, PEI is hosting 'Connecting Families with Budd Inlet Watershed' with Olympia Community Sailing, a three-hour event designed to connect the Latino Heritage Community and the general public with their local ecosystems. Join us at the Port Plaza in Olympia between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and be prepared to learn and have fun!

06/04/2026

Saturday, June 6th is , an opportunity to get outdoors and explore a new destination or visit an old favorite. Trail building and maintenance are one aspect of PEI's Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems (YESS) program, intersecting with forest management, restoration ecology and aquaculture and fisheries.

Anyone who has ever worked on trails has a different appreciation for the vital role they play in minimizing impacts on habitat, the amount of planning and engineering that goes into them and why water is always a consideration. YESS participants will remember these lessons for the rest of their lives, with the way they notice and interact with trails forever changing.

Happy National Trails Day (almost)!

Find a National Trails Day® event near you to join a nationwide trail service and advocacy movement on the first Saturday of June.

06/03/2026

Join PEI and Olympia Community Sailing for another great day of connecting with local watersheds, with support from the City of Olympia - Government.

06/02/2026

Washington State Department of Natural Resources' Steve Ogden shares what inspires him about forestry education workshops for teachers and why it's so important that people understand the complexities and considerations of forest management.

“It’s difficult for educators to find the time and budget for outdoor education,” says Ogden. “That makes it so important that we have landowners and forest practitioners who partner with PEI and can provide good information. I hope our participants take away from today how complex forestry and natural resources management are.”

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Rayonier Smurfit Westrock Weyerhaeuser

Washington DNR's Assistant Regional Manager for the State Uplands P...

06/01/2026

Summer is almost here, which means that YESS programs are not far behind. In May, teachers from Tumwater School DistrictYYakima Public Schools Spokane Public Schools Toppen*sh School District and Onalaska High Schooljoined PEI, Washington State Department of Natural Resources Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama NationFisheries for two full days of training and sharing.

Central Washington University geology professor Nick Zentner, host of Nick On The Rocks kicked things off with a memorable and highly entertaining keynote address focused on Washington State geological eras, connections to natural resources careers and current work throughout the state.

By the end of day two, teachers were feeling supported and ready for another summer of YESS.

“I used to think my experience during the YESS program in 2025 was unique but now I know that there is a community of YESS teachers statewide.”
— YESS Teacher Workshop Participant

Teachers attending a Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems (YESS) program workshop in May had an energizing start to their first day when an Emmy Award-winning geologist provided the keynote address. […]

05/29/2026

Start planning for next year with PEI’s Solutions Oriented Learning Storylines (SOLS), which help students explore climate change through a solutions-oriented lens through funding from ClimeTime.

Find a grade-band-appropriate SOLS and get started with topics like coastal hazards, forests food waste, urban and community forestry, regenerative agriculture, solar energy, wetlands and wildfires.

“I was impressed with the desire students showed to make a difference at our school. We can’t change the laws at this time, but we can create solutions. Students have great ideas and a lot of passion for fixing this issue.”
— Middle School Art Teacher after implementing PEI's Food Waste SOLS

Learn more here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ev3YKCn6itBEZshawLRiD8kBhgybUUbv