Ready, Set, GO!! Nathan Hale High School is Kicking Off OrcaStars
Living here in Puget Sound, the gateway to the Salish Sea, wedrive into parking lots, over bridges, roads, and we visit businesses that aremaking an impact on the many salmon streams that weave through the tapestry ofthe terrain of our city and neighborhoods. We know them as the Duwamish River,The Green River, The Skagit, and the Nooksack Rivers. We hear about creeks thatare running through our neighborhoods like North Creek, Thornton Creek,Issaquah Creek and more.
Sadly, due to overdevelopment and environmentally unfriendlypractices, many of our rivers and salmon streams have become inhabitable, butwe believe if we all work together, we can change that.
OrcaStars honors businesses in our local neighborhoods throughout Greater Puget Sound who are mindful of their everyday practices in a program called OrcaStars™. These businesses are the ones stepping up to use environmentally friendly cleaning products. They make sure to only serve sustainable seafood. They provide compostable take out containers. They make adjustments in their establishments to reduce energy consumption.
This year, thanks to a generous donation from Sound Community Bank, an important layer of the program to bring in local high schools as an integral part of the program was fulfilled. Students will be the ones calling on businesses. They will bring the knowledge that they learn in schools, and in turn, they will learn a lot about how local businesses in their own neighborhood work!
Our pilot program formally kicks off on June 6th!First up will be team Nathan Hale High School! Ten teams from Nathan Hale willbe out in the neighborhood visiting local restaurants in the Lake City andNorthgate areas. These students have been involved in science education thisschool year with our own Dr. David Bain and OC staff. The students have gainedvaluable information about how our everyday environmental habits make adifference in the environment in which we live!
In addition, over the past several months, students have been in strategy meetings to co-design the OrcaStars™ program from the students’ perspective. We will learn a lot with the hope of formally kicking off the program in time for the school year. Next year, the OrcaStars™ program will feature an app where customers can find sustainable restaurants, and other types of businesses. They will be able to find restaurants, retail establishments and service organizations that are doing their part to be responsible in the way they are treating the environment around them.- giving our OrcaStars™ businesses advertising for life!
The best news of all is that the majority of these Nathan Hale teams are Juniors! We are hopeful that this team can mentor students in their own high school and others to continue these efforts, with the goal of making their community full of OrcaStars™, saving our salmon streams and habitat around us.
To get involved in the OrcaStars™ program we invite you to contact us. If you own a business that is sustainable and mindful of your environmental impact, we want to know you! We also need mentors and volunteers to help work with schools next year! Please fill out our volunteer form if interested! (https://www.orcaconservancy.org/volunteer/). Thank You!