Sustainability Ambassadors present student projects as city contract nears end

The Sammamish Sustainability Commission heard a final presentation from the Sustainability Ambassadors on student-led climate projects and outreach, and staff said the city's contract with the Ambassadors ends at the end of April.

The Ambassadors reviewed a year of work that included classroom-aligned impact projects, short student surveys designed as a carbon-commute baseline, and curriculum resources for middle and high school classes. Staff said the SNAP-funded effort trained about 20 new student ambassadors and supported three paid student leaders. City staff noted school-level survey response examples such as Skyline (~900 responses), Peace Lake (~733), Pine Lake (~652) and Inglewood (~793), which presenters said allow per‑student extrapolation to estimate commuter carbon impacts.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the program helps connect municipal Climate Action Plans to classroom work so the city can measure student-driven behavioral change. Staff described the Ambassadors' data as a tool for persuasion and implementation — one presenter summarized the approach as “data is king” — and described how survey results in one private school reportedly contributed to a decision to explore an electric shuttle.

Presenters described a range of student work from small, measurable home projects (for example, studies on disposables and 'flushable' wipes) to school-wide campaigns such as Transit Bingo, which seeks to normalize youth transit use through classroom and school competitions with monetary prizes. The Ambassadors also compiled a rooftop-solar potential database for more than 500 single‑family parcels using PVWatts and Google Roof tools and said lesson plans and sample student videos are available on the program website.

A student ambassador who participated in the program told the commission that involvement often requires substantial time during busy months; staff cautioned that student commitment varies and gave a program expectation of roughly five hours per week for typical months. Commissioners and presenters discussed opportunities to embed impact projects directly into school curricula (for example, 8th‑grade and 9th‑grade science classes) to scale participation and data collection.

Presenters also discussed partnerships and funding sources that support the Ambassadors’ work, including recurring funding from Cascade Water Alliance for water‑conservation programming and a developing relationship with Puget Sound Energy around Green Power outreach and materials. Staff said they will compile a final report by the end of the month and will present more detailed program materials to the City Council in an upcoming meeting.

Next steps: Staff will deliver the final Ambassadors report at month’s end and follow up with commissioners on possible ways to better institutionalize the program with local school districts and curriculum leaders.