Combining STEM learning with tribal ecological knowledge

With a grant from NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate, tribal college students living on the Salish Sea coast in Washington State are researching their local ocean ecosystem, combining the Lummi Nation’s traditional ecological knowledge with STEM learning and skills.
Since 2014, Northwest Indian College (NWIC) and Western Washington University (WWU) have collaborated to bring their students out to the Salish Sea Basin to study local clam species, inter-tidal ecosystems, and the processes of ocean acidification and other changes to these natural resources so vital to local livelihoods and culture.