Last September, the Seward Park Audubon Center launched a new teen engagement program, Elevation. On its maiden voyage, we welcomed students from Foster High School, Cleveland High School, Franklin High School, Raisbeck Aviation High School, and The Rainier Valley Leadership Academy to join us on a journey to understand issues in conservation, discover career opportunities, and celebrate the joy of witnessing birds in the wild. In all, 19 students met with our mentors and made site visits to places that took them on new paths to understanding the natural world and the need to preserve these spaces.
In January, the Elevation group traveled sixty miles north to Fir Island, where Audubon volunteer Armand Lucas led them on a tour of sites to witness large, awe-inspiring migrations of Snow Geese and Tundra Swans, peppered with Bald Eagles, Short-eared Owls, and Western Meadowlarks. Then in April, the group traveled sixty miles south to the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, where they were greeted by Willy Frank, III. The students immediately recognized Willy as “The guy” from the film ‘Fish Wars’, a film the group watched in a special pre-screening opportunity.
We watch our team grow as a team and as individuals. Our volunteers joined them in placing their hands in the soil and tilling the plots at Yes Farm in our excursion with the Black Farmer Collective. Our mentors welcomed the team to the Woodland Park Zoo to help paint a picture of how organizations in Seattle can support conservation efforts in Papua, New Guinea, with a presentation on Tree Kangaroos and a behind-the-scenes tour of their enclosure.
They took part in skill-building activities that found them establishing transects in Seward Park to help Friends of Seward Park chronicle sword fern health. Then, at the waters along Des Moines, they learned techniques to safely capture abandoned seal pups, how to properly feed them, and track their health, all under the watch of curious pups.
The student's penultimate journey was to the State Capitol. They were present for Governor Bob Ferguson’s signing of 50 bills presented by the legislature, including a number of bills that support wildlife protections and advance environmental priorities. The Elevation team had a private audience, and the group's maturation was on full display. No longer shy and reserved, our students used this opportunity to bring their important issues to the Governor face-to-face. Governor Ferguson thoroughly enjoyed the encounter and offered future support to the Elevation program, presenting the group with a ceremonial signing pen and a business card for his chief of staff to be given to the program leader, Gaby Rivarde.
In our first year of Elevation, we built partnerships, traveled to many places, supported students beyond the lesson plan, and helped teens find their way. We also learned a lot. So, we are busy planning our second cohort, knowing that it will be difficult to eclipse this year’s experiences. To learn more about Elevation, check out the program website and sign up here.
