Environmental education

Environmental education programs by age group

School programs and field trips - elementary and secondary

• Green Schools Program
  Involve students in conservation and outreach efforts at your school and receive recognition for your program.
• Noxious weeds and restoration
  In-classroom programs on invasive and native plants called Right Plant, Right Place.
• School Discount Program
  Provides the opportunity to waive a school's Surface Water Management fee for teaching about ecology, clean water, runoff and stormwater.
  • Elementary Stormwater Runoff Education Resource Guide
  • Secondary Stormwater Runoff Education Resource Guide
• Tours to Cedar Hills Landfill and King County Transfer Station
  Tour our solid waste facilities to see where your trash goes.
• Waste reduction and recycling
  Assemblies and classroom programs on waste prevention and recycling.
• Wastewater and stormwater
  In-classroom and now online presentations and field trip programs to King County Water Treatment Plants that teach about our local water systems.

Lesson plans, curricula and teaching materials - elementary and secondary

• Climate and energy
  • Climate solutions - M.S.
  • Climate solutions - H.S.
• Contaminated soil
• Hazardous waste
• Noxious weeds
• Surface water issues
• Waste reduction and recycling
• Wastewater and stormwater

Educational videos

• H2Ope for the future
  Introduction to watersheds, water pollution, aquatic ecology and conservation.
• Natural Connections
  Award-winning video introducing biodiversity and the ecological connections in the natural world, including humans.
  Study guide 

Internships and career programs

• King County internships
  King County provides internships for fully enrolled undergraduate and graduate students that provide experiences in a number of environmental fields.
• High school internships and career program - Wastewater Treatment Division
  Paid summer internship for high school aged students.

Adult programs and educator workshops

• Educator trainings and professional development
  Water, science concepts, next generation science standards.
• GIS and mapping
  Learn how to create and share interactive web maps to teach students for school projects.
• Natural Yard Care for Western Washington
• Natural yard care
  Adult workshops on yard care and other environmental topics.
  • Northwest natural yard and garden resources
• Noxious and invasive plant classes
  Adult workshops to learn about weed identification and control.
• Waste reduction and recycling
  Master recycler and composter classes.
• Wastewater and stormwater
  Programs and facility tours.

Volunteer and stewardship programs

• City Soil Farm
  1.5-acre demonstration farm near Renton. Learn about how food is grown, taste the food, and take some food home
• The Dirt: calendar of hands-on volunteer events
  Current outdoor volunteer projects and programs. Sign up for project announcements.

Maps, graphics and data

• Maps, graphics and photos
  Copyright-free, editable visuals illustrating King County's environment for use in school reports and presentations.
• Climate change graphics
• Environmental monitoring data
  King County monitors the health of local streams, rivers and Puget sound; get up to date data to use in education programs.
• WaterMaps
  Interactive mapping tool for educators and students to learn about our regional water systems.
• Natural resource maps
  Collection of select map resources for county residents, schools and non-profit organizations.
• Open data at King County
  Public data on a variety of topics for a variety of uses.

News and announcements