The South Sound Estuary Association, dba Puget Sound Estuarium, is seeking to expand the number of students who participate in field trips at its Inspiring Kids Preserve (IKP) on Henderson Inlet in Thurston County and Bayshore Preserve in Mason County.
The IKP site is dedicated to providing K-12 students learning opportunities regarding estuarine ecology and conservation. The Estuarium partners with Community Land Trust to provide field trips to students from Lydia Hawk Elementary School, one of the North Thurston School District’s most diverse and underserved schools, to experience a forest walk and observations of saltwater and freshwater wetland ecosystems. The grant funding will help the Estuarium offer field trips to another North Thurston school, doubling the number of students who can participate.
At the Bayshore Preserve, Oakland Bay Junior High Students participate in Bayshore Field STEM trips and learn, among other things, how to test saline levels and the impacts of saltmarsh intrusion into the upland habitat.
