New environmental education program creates connections for refugees and immigrants in Spokane

For refugees and immigrants, adjusting to a new home can be challenging and overwhelming. Many are navigating foreign environments, cultures and languages. But a unique environmental program in Spokane helps them make connections to the environment and their new community.

Ecology’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Education grant program aims to increase education and support in litter control, waste reduction, recycling and composting for communities dealing with disproportionate challenges due to social, economic or environmental factors.

Spokane River Forum, a nonprofit organization, is using a Waste Reduction and Recycling Education grant to do just that.

Using ecofunding, the Spokane River Forum provides education and outreach to refugees and immigrants in Spokane County. They translated the Spokane Waste and Recycling Guide into Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian to make the information more accessible. These languages ​​were chosen because they are among the most spoken languages ​​in Spokane.

According to Ecology’s grants manager, Steven Gimpel, the guide is “a great tool for local residents to find solutions to their waste.” By providing translated versions of the guide, refugees and migrants can access detailed information on appropriate methods, locations and procedures for the disposal of waste and recyclables. This makes waste management more accessible to people who do not speak English as their first language.

Spokane River Forum also partnered with Refugee and Immigrant Connections Spokane to fund educational field trips for the Kids Connect program. For participants in the Kids Connect program, moving to a new city, let alone a new country, is a daunting endeavor filled with many new challenges. But through hands-on experiences, participants can see how we deal with waste in our community and how waste management ultimately impacts our water systems. Participants learn valuable information they can share with family members and use to take action on proper waste management.

Although these trips were designed for youth, a total of 120 participants from different age groups had the chance to explore various facilities around Spokane. Field trips included visits to the Waste-to-Energy facility, the Water Resource Center, and the Combined Sewer Overflow tank in Spokane Falls. Participants also participated in Arbor Day events at Finch Arboretum, as well as many other outreach events. The next field trip will take participants to the Water Treatment Plant at Riverside State Park, where they will have the opportunity to learn how wastewater is treated.

Happy Avery, executive director of the Spokane River Forum, hopes these field trips will engage our youth. “Children are our future and they want to know these things.”

As the program grows, Happy hopes to not only engage more youth but also expand the diversity of languages ​​used in training and outreach materials. The impacts of this program go far beyond waste management. This program helps immigrants and refugees feel a sense of belonging in our society by creating engagement and learning opportunities so they can take action and participate in our city’s waste management.