FOR RELEASE: CONTACT: Feb 13, 2017 Jennifer Mortensen, Preservation Services Coordinator Washington Trust for Historic Preservation 206-624-9449 (office) yhp@preservewa.org<mailto: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 2017and 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<mailto:lhoogkamer@ci.tacoma.wa.us> Puyallup Tribe of Indians Historic Preservation Department 253-573-7965 [../../../Working%20Design%20Files/Youth%20Heritage%20Project/2017%20YHP%20in%20Tacoma/00%20Logos/logos%2002] 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<http://www.preservewa.org> for more information. ### [Tacoma2C1inVector_whiteborder] Lauren Hoogkamer, MSUP/MSHP Historic Preservation Coordinator Planning and Development Services 747 Market Street, Room 345 Tacoma, WA 98402 (253) 591-5254 Connect: CityofTacoma.org/HistoricPreservation<http://www.cityoftacoma.org/cms/one.aspx?objectId=67700>| Subscribe to our newsletter, Past Forward!<https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WATACOMA/subscriber/new?topic_id=WATACOMA_135>| Find us on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tacoma-Historic-Preservation/371359586854> & Twitter<https://twitter.com/Tacoma_Culture>| Take our survey!<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/tacomapds>