Template revised September 22, 2016.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
3c
BRIEFING ITEM
Date of Meeting
June 27, 2017
DATE: June 12, 2017
TO: Dave Soike, Interim Executive Director
FROM: Arlyn Purcell, Director Aviation Environment and Sustainability
Steven Rybolt, Environmental Program Manager
SUBJECT: Recognition of the 2017 Raisbeck Aviation High School Environmental Challenge
Award Winners
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Airport staff would like to recognize the winners of the 2017 Raisbeck Aviation High School
(RAHS) Airports and the Environment High School Curriculum, also known as the Environmental
Challenge. With the annual program, students are given and must solve a “true-to-life”
environmental problem, representative of the type of challenges airports typically encounter.
The curriculum showcases aviation professions, particularly those at an airport, and helps
students understand why complex challenges require a multi-disciplinary approach.
2017 AWARD WINNERS
Team “Evergreen Consulting” proposed warehouse and flight kitchens using sustainable
building practices and a community program to help maintain and enhance vegetated areas.
The winning team members are:
• Payton Adams
• Charleisha Cox
• Matthew Morin
• Brian Phuong
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
The Airports and the Environment High School Curriculum is an annual project-based learning
and educational program designed by Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s Environmental
Programs and Public Affairs staff. The program began in 2008, and 2017 represents the 10
th
year of the program. The one-month intensive curriculum was developed specifically for RAHS
and is the culminating project for the school’s sophomore class.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. ____ Page 2 of 2
Meeting Date: June 27, 2017
Template revised September 22, 2016.
Founded and operated by Highline Public Schools, RAHS is an innovative science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM) high school with students from communities around the airport
who represent the airport’s and aviation industry’s future workforce.
Students form teams and assume the role of a professional environmental consulting firm to
solve the Environmental Challenge. Students use information presented by airport staff, local
government officials, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and other outside agencies.
They also conduct independent research and participate in an airport field trip and hands-on
activities to develop their optimal solution to the Environmental Challenge.
This year, the Environmental Challenge was to identify development opportunities for three
vacant airport properties while balancing the Port of Seattle’s environmental, economic, and
community objectives. The Environmental Challenge also included a twist where an
endangered species was thought to be present at one of the sites. Teams were asked to
identify environmental concerns, integrate environmental and sustainability attributes into
property development, and explain and mitigate environmental and community impacts while
considering a variety of potential alternatives.
Final team presentations were judged by a panel of experts comprised of aviation and
environmental professionals and local community leaders. The winning team is invited to the
airport for a day of activities and tours designed specifically for them.
The Environmental Challenge program won a 2014 Airports Council International Award for
Excellence in Airport Marketing and Communication Award - Aviation Education and Tour
Programs. The Environmental Challenge also supports the Port’s workforce development goals,
and helps prepare students for careers in the aviation field.
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING
• Presentation slides
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
June 14, 2016 – The Commission recognized the 2016 Raisbeck Aviation High School
Environmental Challenge Award Winners
