Environmental Science Center

ESC recognizes that many communities in South King County particularly black, indigenous, people of color, immigrant, refugee, and low-income communities have been systematically excluded from safe, positive outdoor experiences, and we are striving to change that. We aim to remove some of the barriers to these experiences by providing transportation and free or low-cost programs, translation and interpretation, and by working to create a safe and affirming space within our programs and in the broader community.

It is important to form values early on that foster conservation. This guided our initial focus on programming with children and families. Early learning programs have included both indoor and outdoor seasonal experiences, and school programs typically consist of one hour of classroom instruction followed by a two- or three-hour field study at nearby green spaces. During inquiry-based field portions, students learn to analyze what they are seeing, develop a deeper understanding of ecological systems, see how environment quality is impacted by human decisions, and reach informed conclusions about how to make responsible choices. We also provide after-school programs, summer programs, adult and teacher workshops, high school internships, teen leadership opportunities, and restoration projects.