Saint Edward Environmental Learning Center

Creating a Sustainable Future through Environmental Education
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SEELC 2009 Environmental Education Program

AUTUMN QUARTER (August – October)

To register for SEELC classes please send an email to cponto@seelc.org and indicate which class(es) you wish to attend.

You will receive a confirmation email from the SEELC Registrar. 

 

Course Title

Instructor(s)

Target Age

Date

Wonderful Cattail.  During this class we will discuss the many uses of this wetland plant and we will learn how to make cordage and mats from the cattail leaves.  2 hour class. Class size limit = 15.

Hawkeye Sande

Families

Tuesday, August 4  

10am to 12 noon

In the Park

Nature Games.  Join in playful games that inspire a sense of awareness, belonging, and stewardship of the natural world.  Games such as Bear, Bug, Frog; Greet a Tree; and Camera Kids will be played by children of all ages.  2 hour class.  Class size limit = 30.

Colleen Ponto, Ed.D.

Children 6+

Wednesday, August 5  

6 – 8 pm

In the Park

Going Batty.  Join Bothell's own bat specialist, Barbara Ogaard, for a program all about bats. Learn about the lives of bats and how they coexist with humans and how beneficial they are to the environment and ecosystem. Meet some bats that are rehabbing and other non-releasable educational bats. After the program, we will walk the grounds looking for bats on their nightly feeding.  2 hour class.  Class size limit = 30.  

Barbara Ogaard

Families

 

Wednesday, August 12

7 – 9 pm

At Bastyr University in Room 186

Adventures in Letterboxing.  Discover the forest through letterboxing. Broaden your knowledge and understanding of local PNW forests while eciphering interactive riddles and clues that lead you through a treasure hunt like no other you've experienced!   2 hour class.  Class size limit = 20.

Amanda Stuckey

Families

Sunday, August 16  

1 – 3 pm

In the Park

Sticks, Stones, and Animal Bones: Creative Nature Journaling.  Let’s go outside to discover art and science in nature! Go on a shape and color hunt. Create a sound map. See the world through animal eyes. Try your hand at wild drawing techniques like gesture sketching, contour drawing, and zooming. Then, build a sculpture out of natural materials to leave behind as a gift to nature. Please bring a pencil, pen, and either a blank-page journal or a clipboard with blank paper. Class meets rain or shine.  2 hour class.  Class size limit = 16.

Kristen Bergsman

Families with children 8+

Wednesday, August 19

6 – 8 pm

In the Grand Dining Hall

Historical Tour of Saint Edward Seminary.  Join Park Ranger Mohammad as he leads a tour and tells stories about the Saint Edward Seminary.  3 hour class.  Class size limit = 15.

Mohammad Mostafavinassab

Open to anyone

 

Sunday, September 6    

1 – 4 pm

In Grand Dining Hall and Building

Wilderness Navigation and Orienteering.  Learn how to use map and compass to find your way in the wilderness.  3 hour class.  Class size limit = 12.

Bruce McAlister

8+

Beginner & Intermediate

Saturday, September 12

9a - 12 pm.

In the Park

Playground Maintenance Day!  Come join neighbors and friends as we work together to maintain the Saint Ed.’s Playground.  No registration required.  Great way to earn 4 community service hours!  Come one and all, young and older.  Wear old clothes and bring a lunch.  Gloves will be provided.

Colleen Ponto, Coordinator

All ages

Sunday, September 13

10 am – 2 pm

At the Playground

Composting, Worm Bins and more!  Learn the why's, how's, and who's of composting, worm bins and other green-gardening practices that empower you to become the earth-friendly steward you've always hoped to be!  2 hour class.  Class size limit = 20.

Amanda Stuckey

Families

Saturday, September 19 

1 – 3 pm

In the Park

Name that Tree.  Using a key and the tree characteristics they observe, children and adults will learn how to identify 8 native trees that grow in our Pacific Northwest forests.  We will also learn the differences between conifer and broadleaf trees and we will learn how Native Americans used these trees and how they are used commercially today.  2 hour class.  Class size limit = 42.

Colleen Ponto, Ed.D.

8+

 

Saturday, September 26

9 - 11 am

In the Park

MushRoaming in Saint Edwards.  As a fungophile [=friend of mushrooms] there is no sadness when summer ends, since fall is the peak of the mushroom season here in the PNW!  We will take a stroll through the Park and look for edible and non-edible mushrooms. We will discuss their function in the ecosystem, how they have adapted to their niches and what it takes to use them yourself as source of food and medicine. If people want to bring some mushrooms from their yards Daniel can identify them.  2 hour class.  Class size limit = 25.

Daniel Winkler

14+

Wednesday, October 14

 3 - 5 pm

In the Park

Our History with Salmon in Washington State. The Pacific salmon is a beloved icon of the Northwest, and yet many, if not most runs are either extinct or going extinct.  How did we get to this point?   Many people view the salmon crisis as a product of recent history, but its roots go back to the arrival of Euro-Americans in the early 1800s.  This fascinating story spins a web of "cowboys", Indians, politics, science, technology, economics and religion.  Within it are broader lessons about our use and stewardship of natural resources.  2 hour class.  Class size limit = 49.

Bill Pierce, Ph.D.

14+

Wednesday, October 21 

7 – 9 pm

At Bastyr University in Room 146

 

Our Instructors

Kristen Bergsman has been writing in her nature journals for the past thirteen years and enjoys introducing people to creative nature journaling. She is owner of Laughing Crow Curriculum, a company that designs science education materials, and Vice President of Wugaboo Entertainment, a company that produces educational books and toys. Kristen holds a BA in Environmental Education and is a Master's of Education candidate in Science Education.

Bruce McAlister is a retired professor.  He began orienteering 40 years ago while teaching at the University of Oslo in Norway.  He has orienteered in many countries, and has prepared many of the orienteering maps used in the Northwest. 

Mohammad Mostafavinassab is the Park Ranger at Saint Edward State Park.  Mohammad’s career in parks management began with Washington State Parks in 1990 where he served as a Park Aide and then as Park Ranger for many parks in Eastern Washington before coming to Saint Edward State Park in 2004.   

Barbara Ogaard is the Educational Director of Sarvey Wildlife Center in Everett and she is on the Board of Directors of Bats Northwest.

Bill Pierce, Ph.D., is a fly fisherman employed as a software engineer. In 2007, he decided to devote his volunteer efforts to environmental issues; in particular, salmon and steelhead recovery in the Pacific Northwest.

Colleen Ponto, Ed.D., has a forestry degree, is Founder and President of the Saint Edward Environmental Learning Center, and is a core faculty member of the Organization Systems Renewal Graduate Program at Seattle University. 

Allan “Hawkeye” Sande is Founder and Director of the Quiet Heart Wilderness School.  Hawkeye is a Washington State native and spent his childhood exploring the wooded hills of Mason County and walking the shores of Hood Canal where an abundance of Native artifacts were there to be found. This early interest in nature and the Native Americans has grown from a life love to a teaching passion. His classes enable students, young and old, to gain in their understanding of the natural world, and instill in them a sense of stewardship toward their planet and its creatures.

 

Amanda Stuckey, M.EH., is an Urban Forest Steward for Mercer Island's Parks Department, certified arborist and self-proclaimed plant geek.  She is drawn to interactive adventure-learning that uses the natural world as its classroom.

 

Daniel Winkler, M.S., Daniel is a researcher and environmental consultant specialized on Tibet, where he has been working for twenty years, especially on medicinal and edible mushrooms. Daniel is a member of the Puget Sound Mycological Society, where Daniel trained to become a mushroom identifier and teaches classes. Daniel is also a mushroom guide and organizes mushroom tours to Tibet [www.MushRoaming.com].