Our educators are excited to provide your classes with in-person hands-on workshops or remote interactive workshops. For workshop descriptions see below.
*New* Sustainable Auburn Workshop - Food to Fertilizer:
Suitable for grades 6-8 and after-school programs.
While exploring how food scraps become fertilizer, students will also discuss food waste reduction and natural resource conservation. Classes will use critical thinking, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills to identify problems and discuss possible actions.
This Sustainable Auburn workshop ranges from 45-60 minutes, depending on class needs.
Students will:
- Review how food and food waste connects to natural resources.
- Explore food waste and discuss what causes it and ways to prevent it.
- Learn how food scraps and yard waste become compost.
- Share thoughts and ideas highlighting the benefits of reducing food waste and collecting compostable materials.
- Participate in hands-on activities designed to emphasize choices they can make to help reduce food waste and conserve resources.
- Develop their understanding of resource conservation and the tools available to them to help your school go green!
To request a workshop or materials, see below.
Sustainable Auburn Workshop - Reduce Waste and Recycle Right:
Suitable for grades 3 - 5 and after-school programs.
While exploring concepts of natural resource consumption, waste reduction, and recycling, students will use critical thinking, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills to identify problems and discuss possible actions.
This Sustainable Auburn workshop ranges from 45-60 minutes, depending on class needs.
Students will:
- Learn about sustainable choices while focusing on examples of consumption and waste.
- Discuss how natural resources are connected to everyday products. Share thoughts and ideas around how choosing reusable products and properly sorting their waste can help reduce our impact on the natural world.
- Participate in hands-on activities to emphasize choices they can make at home and at school to help protect the environment.
- Develop their information tools they can then use to help your school go green!
Resources: Supplemental materials for teachers are available upon request.
- Online Sustainable Auburn video
- Supplement student activity sheet (PDF)
To request a workshop or materials, see below.
Hazards on the Homefront Workshop: Household Hazardous Products and Safer Choices
Sustainable for grades 3rd-8th (program materials is adjusted for different age ranges) and after-schools programs.
While learning how to identify hazardous products commonly found around the home, students will engage in critical thinking and make real-life decisions. The workshop will highlight the importance of identifying household hazardous products and making safer product choices.
The Hazards on the Homefront workshop ranges from 45-60 minutes, depending on class needs. This workshop is designed for 3rd - 8th grade audiences. The workshop is adapted to meet the developmental needs of different grade levels.
Students will:
- Learn how to identify hazardous products through the use of Signal Words.
- Practice reading product labels and will assess the information on the label.
- Assess the information on the label and discuss possible hazards to consider.
- Review safer alternatives and share ideas on how to keep themselves and others safer.
The WA Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) approved this lesson as a supplemental curriculum for local classrooms. The workshop features adapted materials for English Language Learners.
Resources: Supplemental materials for teachers are available upon request.
- Online Household Hazardous Products video
- Supplement student activity sheet (PDF)
To request a workshop or materials, see below.
To schedule a presentation or request supplemental materials
In-class presentations are available for the 2023-2024 school year but don't delay – space is limited! For in-class presentations, we ask that a minimum of three classes be scheduled per school visit.
Please send an email or call 206-583-0655 Ext 111 (or toll free at 1-800-227-0977).
Information and funding for these workshops and materials is provided by grants from the King County Solid Waste Department, Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, and Department of Ecology.
- Preschool and Kindergarten Program - storybook reading
- Elementary School Program - school assembly with classroom presentation or assistance with a Green Team project.
- Secondary School Program - classroom presentation or assistance with a Green Team project.
- Heroes' at Schools Program - get recognition for your school's environmental accomplishments.
Join more than 200 schools and 12 school districts in King County that have received assistance from the program, improved their conservation practices, involved students in conservation and outreach efforts, and received recognition!
Read about the program mission, the assistance and supplies provided by the program and program steps in How it Works.
Check out the success stories about schools and districts that have completed program levels since 2009. Also see success stories about districts and schools that participated prior to 2009, and read participant comments.
The Auburn School District partners with The King County Green Schools Program. Interested in starting a green schools program? Contact your school administrator, then contact Scott Weide, the Auburn School District's Resource Conservation Manager via email or at 253-931-4955.
Auburn School District Green Schools or Auburn School District Resource Conservation webpages.
Other Green Team & Environmental Resources
- 2017 U of WA Livable Cities, Auburn School District Food Waste Reduction Project - School cafeterias generate a significant amount of wasted food. An estimated 30 to 50 percent of edible food in schools is not eaten by students and is instead sent to landfills or composting facilities. The purpose of this University of Washington Livable Cities project was to work with the Auburn School District (ASD) on current cafeteria and kitchen solid waste to inform a pilot School Food Share Program and to help identify effective waste reduction strategies. Students made suggested actions schools could take to reduce and recycle overall waste, including wasted food, and offered recommendations for what could be donated from schools as edible food products. View more information on the 2016-2017 Livable City Year Partnership with the City of Auburn.
- EarthGen, formerly called Washington (State) Green Schools Program - Provides resources and tools to involve students, teachers, and community members in assessing and taking action to increase resource conservation and waste reduction in schools.
- Washington State Department of Ecology, Ecology for Educators & Students - Provides environmental education materials for classroom teachers and students' research, community educators' programs and for individuals choosing to make a difference.
Contacts for Information & Assistance
- Auburn School District's Resource Conservation Manager - email Scott Weide or call 253-931-4955.