During the 2011-2012 school year, 4,126 students came to IslandWood – an increase of more than 10% over the previous year. A majority of the participants attend schools that receive financial assistance to participate in our School Overnight Program.
The Ginger and Barry Ackerley Scholarship Endowment enabled IslandWood to award nearly $300,000 a year in scholarship funding to our high-needs schools, reducing tuition for some schools to as little as $20 per day per student.
In early June, IslandWood hosted a National Military Family Association Operation Purple Family Retreat. The family retreat, one of six in the country, enabled active duty service members and their families from all over the country to reconnect in nature after long deployments.
IslandWood partnered with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and local school districts to provide Voices from the Field, a week of science learning at IslandWood for 54 middle school students whose parents are migrant workers.
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wtd/Construction/North/Brightwater.aspx
http://www.friendsofhiddenriver.org/about/staff
http://www.friendsofhiddenriver.org/
Contact Us
Friends of the Hidden River
20505 Marine Drive # 38
Stanwood, WA 98292
Webmaster@friendsofthehiddenriver.com
In response to increased growth in our region, King County, Washington, has built a new regional wastewater treatment system called Brightwater. Treatment plant operations began in September 2011. The conveyance system and outfall began full operations in fall 2012. Final restoration work at some of the construction sites is scheduled to continue into 2014.
The new facilities include a treatment plant, conveyance (pipes and pumps taking wastewater to and from the plant), and a marine outfall.
This Web site provides information about the project, including:
project background information
The Brightwater Center is now open. The park grounds are open dawn to dusk everyday. The Brightwater Education and Community Center is open to the public Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Background:
Friends of the Hidden River
The Friends of the Hidden River is an educational organization dedicated to developing and enhancing citizen understanding and action in community environmental education issues in the Puget Sound and surrounding regions
A group of local environmentally aware educators, formerly called the Brightwater Teacher Task Force, developed the Friends of the Hidden River, a 501(c)(3) non profit. The group's initial goal was to create an effective Community Environmental Education Center to be co located at the proposed Brightwater wastewater treatment facility. The team's study concluded that the Center would fulfill three sometimes competing needs.
First, there is a need to site a major capital improvement project, the Brightwater wastewater facility.
Second, it fulfills the need for a community center for local gatherings.
Finally, there is a need for a regional environmental education facility that will help the community learn to balance the needs of our environment with the wants of its people.
The task force investigated how to craft the educational programs, grounds, and facilities in order to achieve maximum benefit for the citizens and students of the local community. Here is a brief summary of their goals and objectives:
Friends of the Hidden River Vision
Our vision is to provide programs that help citizens balance their personal wants with our growing community's need to have a healthy, sustainable environment
Friends develops and provides cutting edge STEM environmental services and programs to the community.
Friends also provides insight, assistance and ideas to the Brightwater Center Advisory Team with the goal to enhance the Center's footprint in our community.
Overriding Objective:
To grow a national model Environmental Center in which citizens can learn to balance their desires with the region's need to have a healthy, sustainable community.
Why Environmental Education?
Studies continue to show that using Environmental Education to integrate curriculum is much more effective than single subject studies. The three studies linked below demonstrate the power environmental education adds to effective curriculums: ( For more studies go to:NAAEE )
BEST (Be Earth Stewards Today) regards,