Project GREEN Sustainability Summit 2023

5th annual Project G.R.E.E.N. Teacher Summit

June 7th and 8th, 2023

Riverside Elementary School and the WaterShed

Project GREEN 2023 Summit Details

This is the 5th year of the annual conference and the theme is Resiliency. It will be hosted by Riverside Elementary School and the City of Boise WaterShed on Wednesday and Thursday, June 7th and 8th.

This growing sustainability network focuses on resources, projects, field trips & curriculum that address local, regional & global issues & solutions. This year’s theme is resiliency and through that lens we will explore: water, student engagement, climate change, and more. The main audience is teachers and administrators, but we encourage professionals, administrators, students and educators of all types to submit proposals to present.

The first day of the summit will feature a keynote speaker, community professionals, and the highlight of the conference, student success (and near success) stories. The second day of the summit will be hosted by the WaterShed. We will explore the current displays and get a preview of the changes that are taking place! The rest of the day will be spent in breakout sessions with experiential activities from a diverse set of educators and professionals.

Registration for the 2023 Project GREEN Sustainability Summit is closed. Hope to see you next year.

2022 Summit Recap

Day 1 - 2022

Morning @ Highlands Elementary School

“Best day of my life” was the mantra of the day. Students presented on topics of their passion and how teachers facilitated their success. We introduced the Project GREEN committee of volunteer planners and encouraged participants to network with each other. Erica Hermsen, Director at EverWild Forest School presented an amazing topic: “Nature Nurtures.” And IdEEA presented their Environmental Educator of the Year awards. Congratulations to Lynette Weller, Maggie Stover and Augie Gabrielle!

Afternoon @ Bogus Basin

We met with the forestry team who headed up the afternoon: Michelle Youngquist – Idaho Forest Product Commission and Project Learning Tree. Dirk Anderson – Bogus Basin. George Nuesse and Dan Gallagher – Idaho Department of Lands

We learned about the Good Neighbor Authority and the forest restoration project that works to keep the forests at Bogus Basin healthy by reducing the impact of dwarf mistletoe. Then we took a hike where we practiced ecological surveying, tree health assessments and learned tools and techniques to use in the school yard to engage students with their curriculum and the outdoors.

Day 2 @ ICOE

On day two we had an amazing line-up at the Idaho Center for Outdoor Education in Idaho City.

Natalie Kulick presented on her Murdock research: Soils Investigation and Succession Using Dendrochronology. Natalie led us through the Idaho City outdoor campus through soils exploration in the historic mining soils of Idaho City and offered ideas for bringing those inquiries into your classroom.

Breakout groups

Danielle Marquette – BSU, Department of Geosciences. K-12 wildfire education.
Adam Lulu and Rachel Brummet, USFS Boise National Forest. Trees and the Stories They Tell.
Cindy Busche, City of Boise WaterShed. Teaching Climate Change with Project WET.
Camille Platts-McPharlin, Foothills Learning Center & Janice Alexander, Boise Urban Garden School. Bringing the Outdoors In: Environmental Education at your school.
Kristin Gnojewski, Boise Parks and Recreation. Community Science Opportunities in the School Yard and Beyond.
Michelle Youngquist, Idaho Forest Products Commission & Project Learning Tree. Inquiry Outside the Classroom Door.

Place Based Experience (PBE) Activities

Art Butts, with IDFG, did a fish shocking demonstration. We found several non-native game fish but no trout – not what we were expecting! We also learned how to collect data including fish weight, age and size, and discussed fish habitats.

Lori Adams, the Project WILD Coordinator with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game brought out an awesome collection of beaver materials set up next to an actual beaver dam. Beavers are our native ecosystem engineers- she used them as one example of how wildlife can be incorporated into curriculum.