Youth Education Committee--What We Do

In his ground-breaking book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-deficit Disorder, Richard Louv, a columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune, exhorts parents, city planners and educators to reconnect children to the natural world. He believes that "birding could be an especially wonderful way to experience nature." The Youth Education Committee of Eastside Audubon shares his belief. Its members dedicate themselves to creating in youth a strong connection to nature and especially to birds.

How do we accomplish this task? To answer this question, let's take a look back over some of the thirteen goals we set for ourselves in 2009. From January to December, we worked with approximately 1000 students. We gave classroom presentations, sponsored activities such as making bird feeders, took children on bird walks, and held a children's program night. For example, at Enatai Elementary School, volunteers gave a presentation on bird beaks and food to second graders. After researching native plants that attract birds, we worked with the teacher and City of Bellevue to plan a garden in a nearby park. The city prepared the ground, and 25 excited students carrying garden tools arrived in the park to plant. What a successful project!

In addition, we awarded individual teacher grants of $150.00 each to two teachers and a $500.00 college scholarship to a Redmond High School senior planning to study environmental science and policy making. Our camp scholarship program for low-income students is always a summer highlight. This year seven middle-school students attended either an overnight or a day camp, thanks to your generous donations.

 In the midst of all of this activity, we continued to improve and expand our curriculum. This year's new lesson plans included topics such as migration and bird identification. Soon our Classroom in a Box will be completed for loan to teachers after our presentations in their classrooms. The program contains lesson plans and all the materials necessary to teach them-an invaluable tool for teachers. Thanks to a grant from REI, we will be able to improve the quality of our programs through the purchase of a variety of materials. Our list includes books, a microscope, art materials, DVDs, a storage container and clipboards. We are very grateful to the Redmond REI for their continual support of the Eastside Audubon Youth Education Committee.

Recently we created a vision statement for our committee-a good ending note for this article. "The Youth Education Committee is dedicated to inspiring children to connect to nature and especially to birds so that they become lifelong stewards of the environment."