Jennifer Mortensen, Preservation Services Coordinator Washington Trust for Historic Preservation 206-624-9449 (office) yhp@preservewa.org
Applications Open for Summer Youth Heritage Program in
Tacoma
Seattle,
Washington:
The Washington Trust for Historic
Preservation is pleased to announce that applications for their sixth annual Discover
Washington: Youth Heritage Project (YHP) are now available. Applications
are due May 31, 2017 and may be submitted electronically on the Washington
Trust website: http://preservewa.org/discoverwashingtonyhp.aspx
The Washington Trust and the
YHP 2017 planning partners seek 48 high school students along with 8 teachers
and mentors for this 5-day interactive field school that will engage
participants by connecting them to historic, cultural, and natural resources.
Any high school-age youth may apply; this includes seniors who will graduate in
the spring of 2017 and 8th graders who will enter high school in fall of 2017.
All applications are individual—students apply independently of their teachers
and vice versa.
YHP fulfills a long-standing
goal of the Washington Trust and to engage younger and more diverse audiences
in the important work of historic preservation students and teachers will work
on preservation projects, visit historic sites, and be asked to develop their
own ideas about preservation strategies related to maritime heritage in
Washington State. YHP is designed to cultivate future leaders in the
preservation of places that matter in Washington State.
Through partnership with the
National Park Service, the Washington State Department of Archaeology &
Historic Preservation, the City of Tacoma Historic Preservation Office, and
additional grant fundraising, the Washington Trust is able to again offer Discover
Washington: Youth Heritage Project free of charge to students in the
region. In order to bring together a diverse body of students, full
scholarships covering lodging, meals, programming, and travel during YHP
activities will be awarded to all accepted applicants.
YHP 2017 will take place in
downtown Tacoma and surrounding environs July 11-15, 2017. The Washington Trust
has been a strong supporter of the proposed Washington State National Maritime
Heritage Area, and it will be the guiding topic for the YHP program this year.
Congress designates Heritage Areas and the National Park Service administers
the National Heritage Area Program. For many communities in Washington,
including Tacoma, a nationally-designated Maritime Heritage Area would promote
tourism and increase public awareness of the importance of Washington’s
waterways to its history, economy, and development. Planned program sites
currently include the Foss Waterway Seaport, the fishing vessel Commencement,
the Port of Tacoma, and the Washington State History Museum.
Throughout the program,
students will be encouraged and guided by knowledgeable professionals in heritage-related
fields. Students will present the projects they develop over the course of YHP
to a panel of professionals and community stakeholders at the culminating Town
Hall meeting which will occur Saturday July 15 at 10am at the Washington State
History Museum. In addition to exposing students to the benefits of historic
preservation, YHP strives to teach students that the future of any community is
the result of deliberate strategies and choices and that they can be a part of
shaping their own communities through their own participation and activism.
The Washington Trust for
Historic Preservation and the City of Tacoma Historic Preservation Office are
pleased to be partnering with the National Park Service and the Washington
State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation to plan and offer
this program. Additional support is being provided by the Puyallup Tribe of
Indians, the Pierce County Historic Preservation Program, and Bassetti
Architects.
Additional Contacts:
City of Tacoma Historic
Preservation Office
Lauren Hoogkamer, Historic
Preservation Coordinator
253-591-5254 (office)
lhoogkamer@ci.tacoma.wa.us
Puyallup Tribe of Indians
Historic Preservation
Department
253-573-7965
Mission of the Washington
Trust for Historic Preservation
The Washington Trust for
Historic Preservation, an independent, non-profit organization, is dedicated to
saving the places that matter in Washington State and promoting sustainable and
economically viable communities through historic preservation. The Trust helps
make local preservation work and builds an ethic that preserves Washington’s
historic places through advocacy, education, collaboration and stewardship.
Founded in 1976, the Washington Trust addresses its mission through the annual
Most Endangered Historic Properties List, educational tours of its landmark
headquarters, the Stimson-Green Mansion in Seattle, conferences and training
workshops, a quarterly members’ newsletter, a small grants fund, and action on
legislation and public policy. Visit the Trust website at www.preservewa.org for more information.
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