Ninth-graders from three Issaquah School District high schools will benefit from a new environmental stewardship education program that culminates in a field trip and hands-on stewardship event.

An estimated 180 students in the biodiversity and lab concepts course will participate in the environmental stewardship learning opportunity program each year, with curriculum developed by the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.

Funding for the program will be made possible by an Issaquah Schools Foundation grant created by Port Blakely Companies and local businesses. Port Blakely contributed $20,000 and is challenging other companies doing business in Issaquah Highlands to contribute.

Port Blakely Companies is the master developer of Issaquah Highlands. The company created the grant in celebration of its 20 years of development activity in Issaquah Highlands.

“We are always on the lookout for new and innovative partnerships that bring additional resources to our students,” said Robin Callahan, executive director of the ISF.

Mountain to Sound Greenway Trust executive director Cynthia Welti said the partnership enables students to learn about the natural world near their schools.

“We applaud Port Blakely, the business community, and the Issaquah Schools Foundation for helping to create future caretakers of nearby forests and streams,” Welti said.