Her commitment to quality education for the 10,000 visitors a year to the Cedar River Watershed can be seen in the letters that come back, and in the excited faces of the students she teaches. Celese's energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and commitment to providing quality, hands-on, fun education programs that plant the seed of wonder, has created a legion of people who not only understand the environment they are experiencing, but can take that home and apply it in their own lives. The program uses education, collection, and technical assistance services to do this. Five agencies work together to plan and provide program services countywide. The school and youth program works with youths between the ages of ten and eighteen and their adult leaders, with a two-pronged emphasis.
All programming is hands-on and highly interactive.
The School and Youth Program is now in its ninth year. The King County Department of Parks and Recreation's formal environmental education efforts began five years ago with the establishment of the Countywide Programs Office and the hiring of staff experienced in environmental education and interpretation. In the five years of its existence, IPO has grown to serve 8,000 school children per year. In addition to environmental education, the office presents interpretive programs for the general public on a wide range of topics that assist the public in understanding their park system and the importance of protecting habitat in an urbanizing area. President's Award Robert Olson Robert Olson has done an extraordinary job to help advance EEAW into a new era.