James Osborn

“James has been a very enthusiastic member of his garden club at Discovery Elementary. His commitment to caring for and protecting the garden stands out compared to other members.”

— Sue Sander, Advisor, Garden Club

James is an inspiration to others. He is in his second year of participating in the Discovery Elementary Garden Club, which meets weekly before school. He is excited to learn information about plants and gardens, and shares this knowledge with others. He shows a commitment to taking care of and protecting the garden and an awareness of the value of having it at his school. His club advisor believes that the interest he shows with this project could lead to a future in an environmental field of study/work!

---

Click here to view all 2018 portraits

Nomination Highlight Video

Jarrett Delfel

“Jarrett has worked tirelessly to build an outdoor shelter as part of his Eagle Scout project, over the last 10 months. He managed the entire project with support from a community mentor, family & his scout troop.”

— Lisa Syravong, Stewardship Program Coordinator, Sound Salmon Solutions

Jarrett is an exceptional youth, and is close to completing the requirements for Eagle Scout. All over Snohomish County, Jarrett has shown his leadership abilities, maturity & sense of community. He has a way of connecting with members of the community including his peers, adults and professionals and involves everyone in a collaborative process. A great example of this is his Eagle Scout project, which is a shelter that will last for 20-30 years and used on a regular basis by every 5th Grade student in the Marysville School District as part of the Jones Creek Outdoor Environmental Education program.

---

Click here to view all 2018 portraits

Nomination Highlight Video

Emily McLaughlin Sta. Maria

“Emily is a student leader in community projects to obtain and disseminate scientific data on stream quality and salmon”

— Joe Scordino, Advisor Students Saving Salmon Club

Emily is a leader amongst Edmonds-Woodway High School students in community projects to obtain and disseminate scientific data on water quality. In spite of heavy workloads as a full time International Baccalaureate student, Emily has been in the field to collect data every month regardless of weather. Her dedication to conservation has included hands-on work releasing over 800 juvenile Coho salmon into upper stream areas and habitat restoration in Shell Creek, where students planted 400 native plants along the creek to enhance the habitat for salmon.

---

Click here to view all 2018 portraits

Nomination Highlight Video

Emily in the News

Carlos Aranda

“Because the earth is an important place for humans.”

— Carlos Aranda's better ground reason

Carlos is a fifth-grade student at Discovery Elementary School. The school started its first community garden last year and he has been one of the most involved students. He volunteered his time to come in on weekends and during the summer. He has so much enthusiasm and a protective nature when it comes to the garden and inspires others to feel the same. He has a desire to be very involved in all aspects of the garden and its care. Based on his love for the garden as well as his leadership qualities, he has been appointed the president of his school’s Verde Garden Club!

Diana Cantini

“To work together to achieve something that is much greater than what one person could do alone.”

— -Diana Cantini's better ground reason

Diana is passionate and smart about supporting her community as she helps with the ecosystem positive projects of Farmer Frog. She understands water conservation, habitat restoration, and ecologically sound food growing in the city. Diana works hard to grow food for low income families, distributing and selling to people at the farmers market. She observes pollinators and ensures others understand that by protecting the habitat we help our own organic food patches. She sends the message: people cannot exist without a healthy and thriving environment.

Jack McManis

“To preserve being in the outdoors and observing birds and wildlife for future generations.”

— -Jack McManis' better ground reason

When Jack heard about the MEco Outdoor Classroom project at his former elementary school in his freshman year of high school, he wholeheartedly joined the effort to restore two acres of forgotten, overgrown forest into an outdoor classroom for students to connect and study nature. His passion for and knowledge of birding inspired him to design and build a bird blind and a wheelchair accessible trail on site. He has also planned and implemented efforts to control erosion on a hillside and to replant the outdoor classroom with native species.