Similar to the high school, Tillamook Junior High took some extra effort to gain interest around the subject of plastic pollution in the oceans. The students we worked with here were more engaged than the high schoolers out the gate and the imagery presented in our slides captivated their imagination.
Working in Tillamook provided a notable challenge as the rural community sits just inland of the coast. With an economy largely based on the dairy industry, plastic pollution in our oceans was a newer concept for the students.
After working with them through some exercises and with the support of some amazing teachers we were able to generate some genuine interest in the subject and get the students minds turning.
Neah-kah-ni High may be the school that wins coolest name for this trip. The small town of Rockaway Beach, Oregon kept us going as we worked with students in a community reliant on the fishing industry.
Aloha-Huber Park. How could we not stop by to teach for a school named Aloha?! Our day at Aloha (pronounced ALO-A) was met by curious students and some of the most original Hawaiian Grinds on the mainland. We stopped at the local plate lunch shop, Roxys (utilizing our reuseable silverware and eating in so we could say no to the plastic alternatives) and had some grinds that as Hans would say “Broke da Mouth”!
After having a few schools fall through because of snow days we jumped on a last minute opportunity to come teach a lesson at Prairie High School in Battleground, Washington. Just north of Portland, we came to teach at Prairie the day after our fundraiser with Hopworks Brewery. Teacher Cody Barton came by our fundraiser to see what our work was about and the next day we dropped by to give his entire class the good information about plastic pollution.
Long Beach Elementary marked our last school on the Washington Coast! The students at Long Beach were highly engaged and staff from around the school came to sit in and learn more.
All Star teacher Travis Cluckey helped us get a full day of classes set up with North Beach. Our lessons included a call to action as we hosted our first beach clean up on the road. Organized in just 24 hrs we managed to get many of the students we taught out to join in the action. READ MORE IN THE NORTH BEACH – BEACH CLEAN UP POST!
The smallest school we will likely teach at, we made a quick stop to teach the 12 students at this school about plastic pollution. The kids we ecstatic to learn more and to have some visitors.
Another tribal school out on the Olympic Peninsula, we left the kids at Tahola so stoked they chased our bus as we drove away. The elementary level classes we worked with had good questions and a strong understanding of the meaning behind Malama Aina.
The home of Twighlight is NOT really that. Working with Forks High was awesome. We had large groups all day and at one point landed a library packed full with two classes. Aloha to Forks for letting us come drop some wisdom!