When you can spare five minutes, watch that video – a big winner at last week’s annual Environmental Slam. Its creator was among students from three local schools whose work was honored at the event. Here’s a report by two educators whose students were among them, Stacia Bell of Madison Middle School and Tim Owens of Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor):

West Seattle students from area schools had a big night at the city-wide Environmental Slam, sponsored by the Washington Foundation for the Environment (WFFE). Due to the pandemic, this year’s Slam was conducted virtually using Zoom and pre-recorded entries. The Environmental Slam is an annual event that encourages middle- and high-school students to prepare 5-minute presentations on any local environmental issue. Winners are recognized and donations from WFFE will be made to the students’ chosen environmental non-profit organization that works specifically with the environmental issue that students focused on.

Madison MS 8th grader Aria Erickson won both the Judges’ Choice 1st-place award (with a perfect score for the first time ever in Slam history) and the Audience Choice award. Her presentation, titled A Single Fish (video above), was about the pain plastic inflicts on marine life in Puget Sound. Aria won $1,000 and will be donating it to the local environmental organization, the Washington Environmental Council. When asked what she loved about the event, Aria said, “Watching the other presentations, I not only was made aware of the dangers facing the Earth, I could also feel in each the passion and dedication of my fellow youth environmentalists. This was incredibly encouraging, and I am so honored to have been a part of it.”

Teams from West Seattle High School and Explorer West Middle School had a three-way tie for 2nd place. West Seattle High School 9th grader Tim Deppe won with his presentation about the effects of consumerism on our environment. One Explorer West team – made up of sixth graders Diane Heckman, Sylvie Kaufman, and Ali Lazar – focused on fertilizer runoff and dead zones in Puget Sound. The final 2nd=place winners, Delia Hutchinson and Sarah Deppe, focused on how contaminants reach Puget Sound, having a drastic effect on salmon. These students will be donating their winnings to Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, the Surfrider Foundation, and 350 Seattle.

​If you haven’t had a chance to attend an Environmental Slam, it happens each year in April around Earth Day and is a city-wide event designed to amplify young people’s voices on environmental issues. This year’s event had 10 participating teams from Seattle area middle and high schools, including Madison MS, West Seattle HS, McClure MS, Whitman MS, Explorer West MS, and SAAS. The Slam will be back next year, and without a doubt, you will walk away from this event inspired by the passion of these young activists, as they speak their truth for the environment!