Local environmental action took center stage as Silas High School in Tacoma and EarthGen were honored at the Seattle Kraken game on April 20 as Starbucks Community Stars.
Nearly 60 members of the EarthGen community came out to cheer on Silas teacher Breanne Willard and her students for the hands-on impact they made in their community. EarthGen helped Breanne Willard’s students learn how stormwater and environmental justice are connected. As a result, they installed a rain garden that filters pollution from their campus.
Silas High School Project Background
Did you know that pollution can vary from one block to the next? For many students in Breanne Willard’s plant biology class at Silas High School the concept of environmental inequities was eye-opening. They wanted to take action for change, but they didn’t know how.
EarthGen’s action-based Stormwater Stewards science program, helped Breanne show her students the connection between local stormwater pollution and environmental inequity. The students applied their classroom learning to install a rain garden beside the campus greenhouse. Willard’s four classes installed more than 200 native plants and trees. As the new plantings grow and fill in, they will do more than beautify the campus; they will filter stormwater, attract pollinators, and complement classroom science lessons.
Thanks to our partners who helped make this project possible: Orcas Love Rain Gardens, Puget Sound Plants, Hulk Construction, Rain Dog Designs, and Pierce Conservation District.
