Brightwater partnership with IslandWood to broaden environmental education horizons

IslandWood’s support to enhance Brightwater’s educational mission

King County’s Brightwater Center and IslandWood, the Bainbridge Island-based outdoor education center, have signed a formal agreement that will lead to new and enhanced educational programs for area students, teachers, and community members.

“IslandWood is a highly respected leader in environmental education and community stewardship, and we’re delighted to collaborate on the development of new learning opportunities at Brightwater,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.

The partnership with IslandWood will enable the expansion of educational programs currently offered at the Brightwater Center to students in the third through eighth grades, including teacher trainings, adult workshops, family programs, and summer camps. IslandWood will also support the Brightwater Center through collaborative marketing, fundraising and partnership development.

Environmental education has been part of King County Wastewater Treatment Division’s mission for decades. About 3,000 people a year already tour its regional treatment facilities to learn about clean water processes and technology, resource recovery, pollution prevention for homes and businesses, and the protection of Puget Sound.

IslandWood is currently in its tenth year of providing programs that help children and adults discover connections between people and the natural environment. More than 17,000 people each year come to the organization’s main campus on Bainbridge Island, and thousands more participate in IslandWood programs in Seattle-area neighborhoods.

"IslandWood is already reaching 100 schools with our programming, but we're limited by how many can come to our center on Bainbridge Island,” said Ben Klasky, IslandWood’s Executive Director.  “We're thrilled to be working with King County to reach thousands more children and teachers closer to where they live."
Since the Brightwater Center opened in September, King County has already hosted meetings and events, as well as school field trips and tours to community members, university groups, high school students, and professional groups.

Additional information about BrightwaterCenter, including how to reserve meeting space and arrange tours, is available on the Web at http://www.kingcounty.gov/brightwatercenter or by emailing BrightwaterCenter@kingcounty.gov.

About IslandWood
Founded in 1999, IslandWood is a nationally recognized outdoor education center that connects thousands of children and adults every year to the natural world in communtiies throughout the Puget Sound region. IslandWood's mission is to provide exceptional learning experiences and to inspire lifelong environmental and community stewardship. In addition to school programs for Seattle-area youth, IslandWood offers a graduate program in Education, Environment, and Community, spring and summer camps, Conference Programs for nonprofits and corporations, and community programs for children and adults.
www.islandwood.org

Note to editors and reporters: Visit the WTD Newsroom, a portal to information for the news media about the Wastewater Treatment Division, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wtd/Newsroom.aspx

###

People enjoy clean water and a healthy environment because of King County's wastewater treatment program. The county’s Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health, the environment and the economy by serving 17 cities, 17 local sewer districts and more than 1.5 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Formerly called Metro, the regional clean-water agency now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for nearly 50 years.