The best way to conserve the environment is to educate the people that live in it.
An even better way is to educate our children about how their actions impact their surroundings. That’s why we opened our Watershed Education Center in September, and why we teach science-based curricula in elementary schools around the county.
Tosha Punches and Ellen Morris lead our outreach efforts by teaching in classrooms and hosting workshops for kids on-site here at CCSE.
“We want students to grow up hearing about solutions to environmental problems and sustainability.”
At our Watershed Education Center opening in September, we partnered with lots of local organizations, like One Cool Earth and STEAM Trunk, among others, to set up exhibits and experiments for kids to take part in. And with our Trout in the Classroom program, kids are able to raise rainbow trout and release them as part of a field trip to a local lake. Through this program, we’ve instilled watershed awareness and conservation ethics within hundreds of students, all the way from Santa Barbara County through northern San Luis Obispo County.
“We want students to grow up hearing about solutions to environmental problems and sustainability,” said Ellen. “We want to teach them that a ‘greener’ future is possible, and that their actions have the ability to influence it.”
By keeping our educational programs running, we can reach hundreds more students each year, and inspire them to consider the impact their actions have on their environment. And when we raise a generation of mindful, eco-centric citizens, we ultimately make the world a better place.