Elevation

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High School students! Seward Park Audubon Center wants to collaborate with you to bring environmental justice to our local communities. In this program, you'll have the opportunity to make a big impact in conservation and advocate for climate change action and sustainability. Elevation is the place where your ideas are celebrated, your voice is heard, you can be yourself, connect with your peers, and help your community thrive. In this program, you are empowered to determine what is most important for you, which skills you want to develop and what environmental actions speak to your values and your truth. We believe that you already have everything you need, and we recognize your talent and capacity to take action.

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Our program offers 3 different cohort opportunities:

Conservation and research: As a team, you will have the opportunity to participate in reforestation and restoration events through the Green Seattle Partnership. Together we’ll develop an experiment of your choosing, research objective, or conservation project and conduct fieldwork to test our hypothesis.
Journalism and social media management: In this cohort you will be the reporters of the program. You’ll manage the program’s blog where you’ll journal about our efforts. You’ll have an opportunity to create your own think pieces and enact social media campaigns. You will lead our policy and outreach campaigns, photography and video editing efforts. Essentially, you’re the program's PR manager.
Policy, community outreach and action: In this cohort, we will build a grassroots campaign that involves our local community. We will bring our climate action and conservation lobbying interests, petitions, and community outreach advocacy to the State’s Legislature and meet with our representatives to advance environmental justice, conservation, and climate change action.

Cohorts meet two Saturdays of each month. You’ll earn service-learning credits and participate in environmental justice campaigns and meaningful conservation efforts in your local community. We’ll go to amazing locations together where you’ll meet young conservation professionals who represent ethnic and cultural diversity and include LGBTQIA+ identities. Through the duration of the program, you’ll build leadership skills that will help you navigate the career path of your choosing, while creating a more equitable world, a world that has justice, community and environmental stewardship at its forefront. At the end of the program, we will have a Summit to celebrate our accomplishments.

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Do you have questions about the Elevation program? Visit the Elevation FAQ page

Elevation Blog

Stay up-to-date with Elevation activities and meet our program's Luminaries. Visit our Elevation Blog

PLEDGE

Have fun! We want you to enjoy your time with us and your time in nature. Help us make this an amazing experience.
Stay with the group. Listen carefully when the group leaders give instructions about sticking with the group or sticking with an assigned partner.
Respect for each other. Our goal is to offer a safe space for everyone participating. We pledge to put forth our best selves when we show up for the program.
Respect nature. During our program, we might be in contact with animals or plants. For your own safety, be mindful of potential dangers, and don't assume you can touch everything. Always ask first.
Respect the rights of other park visitors and animals that live in the park to a pleasant and peaceful environment. Excessive noise or throwing things is extremely stressful to the animals that call the park home.
Dress for the weather. It can always rain in Seattle. Come prepared for rain and cold weather. Try to dress in layers so you can add and subtract, as necessary. Don’t forget your rain jacket, and shoes appropriate for the weather.
Protect the forest. Please place trash where it belongs, in either trash receptacles or recycling. Trash and recycling receptacles are available throughout the park.
Connect to nature. Let’s be present for each other during our program and limit the use of smartphones, tablets, and electronic devices as much as possible. There will be specific times when we will need electronic devices for the program.