South Puget Sound Community College to partner with Squaxin Island Tribe for climate resilience grant

The South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) is set to partner with the Squaxin Island Tribe for a climate-ready workforce initiative, the college announced at a press release yesterday.

The partnership will utilize the college’s $750,000 fund plus a portion of a $9.3 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC).

The initiative aims to forward climate resilience in the country through the empowerment of economically disadvantaged communities, people of color, and Indigenous populations.

“The collaboration between SPSCC and the Squaxin Island Tribe represents a significant step towards building a climate-ready workforce equipped to address pressing environmental challenges. This initiative enhances educational opportunities for Tribal students and strengthens the community's resilience to climate change,” the press release stated.

Over the next four years, the grant will support the Tribal Stewards Program, focused on cultivating new generations of tribal leaders and environmental co-stewards trained in natural resource management.

To engage, empower, and assist tribal students throughout their educational journey, SPSCC and other five other Washington state community colleges will collaborate with five tribes.

SPSCC foresees utilizing the grant funds to support training its STEM faculty in Traditional Ecological Knowledge, aimed to develop classroom activities that contextualize key STEM courses such as biology, chemistry, and computer science.

The college is also dedicated to developing more collaborative, project-based activities in key STEM courses meant to engage students directly in supporting existing and emerging tribal natural resource monitoring initiatives.

The grant will also support additional training opportunities in climate science through coordinated workshops with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, NOAA, and local Tribal partners.