The Benefit of Acknowledging and Addressing Students' Uncomfortable Emotions when Learning about Environmental Issues: Fostering Growth and Change in Action-Oriented Exercises
Ellen Moore
Research reveals that if students are presented with negative information about environmental issues and they are not also provided with a plan for action, they often manifest denial on many levels. This exercise is designed to get students to directly address the emotions they face when learning about environmental issues and to make an action plan to address them in their individual lives.

Don't move a mussel: Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis for detecting aquatic invasive species
Angela Strecker, Western Washington University
Students will learn field sampling and laboratory techniques to utilize environmental DNA (eDNA) as an early detection tool for invasive or rare species, with a focus on zebra mussels.

Afghan Poppies, Climate Change and US Heroin: Thinking Systemically About Us and Them
Karen Litfin, University of Washington-Seattle Campus
This very simple contemplative exercise is rooted in my "Person/Planet Politics" approach, which invites students to into an experiential relationship with a global socioecological phenomenon: in this instance, Afghan poppy production. It can be adapted to a range of courses and a range of topics within those courses. The basic question is: "Who am I in relation to this?"

Twenty Miles from Tomorrow: Examining the Past, Present and Future of the Lower Kuskokwim River Delta
Lauren McClanahan, Western Washington University
This project involves pairing pre-service teachers with students in the rural Alaskan village of Eek in Southwestern, Alaska. By creating effective writing prompts, the pre-service teachers hope to better understand how climate change is affecting the people of this region.

Cascade Citizens Wildlife Monitoring Project
Thomas W. Murphy, Edmonds Community College
This multi-term assignment introduces students to local indigenous stories, significant plants and animals of our region and some basic skills in reading animal tracks and signs.

MAPPING A SCHOLARLY CONVERSATION ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY
This page is authored by Kiki Tömmila Whatcom Community College
This is a guided practice activity that uses the "big ideas" of systems thinking and sustainability to introduce Information Literacy Threshold Concepts. The IL threshold concepts in this assignment are ...

Using Debates to Engage Students in Sustainability Controversies and Conundrums
Robert Turner, University of Washington-Bothell Campus
A primary feature of this "Water and Sustainability" course is a series of 10 debates on controversial sustainability topics. Each student in the course participates in one of the debates.

Story as a Place Happening Many Times: Imaginative Writing Activity
Nancy Pagh, Western Washington University
Students are encouraged to perceive specific locations within our bioregion as having a life that includes past, present, and future. These activities present ideas for wedding the teaching of "craft" with the teaching of sustainability.

Marine Debris: Fishing for Microplastics in Your Home
Julie Masura, University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Students engage with the issue of plastics found in the ocean environment, by exploring products in their homes which contain plastics; they also learn how to calculate the concentration of plastics found in a chosen personal care product.

Catching Cheaters: Using Salmon Phylogenetic Analysis to Identify Atlantic Salmon Mislabeled in Local Stores as Pacific Salmon
Erica Cline, University of Washington Tacoma
Students use phylogenetic analysis to identify farmed Atlantic salmon mislabeled as wild Pacific salmon by local stores and suppliers. This project allows students to apply molecular methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing to a real- world issue.