South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group » sarahclarke

Time for Education!

sarahclarke — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:42:46 +0000

Griffin School Watershed Day

Community education and volunteer involvement are two of the most important aspects of SPSSEG’s mission.

Spring is the time that many of our education efforts get underway and we look forward with great aniticpation to kicking off this Spring season at Point Defiance Zoo’s Earth Day on Saturday, April 18. We plan to have a very tasty activity (hint hint) for those who join us there! Many other groups from throughout the Puget Sound region also feature fun, family friendly activities for zoo visitors to enjoy.

Other upcoming educational events include:

Kids With Conservation Knowledge (KWICK)

Forest Festival Field Day

…two educational activities organized by Mason Conservation District

Forest Festival Field Day 2007

Recent events included plantings at Sherwood Creek and Powell Creek, where community members helped restore streams by planting a riparian buffer along the stream banks.

Sherwood Creek Planting 2009

SPSSEG is also set to begin fundraising activities for our education programming, including the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail and Sound Gardens Save Salmon, a program that links our land and home gardening practices with the health of salmon and our watersheds. Please stay tuned for more information on how you can help, or, if you are so inclined, support education efforts now!

Our Annual Meeting Presentation!

sarahclarke — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:57:27 +0000

Download our 2009 Annual Meeting Presentation to view a showcase of our projects and partners throughout the last year!

Annual Meeting 2009 Presentation

Free Rain Garden Workshops

sarahclarke — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:10:15 +0000

What: Free Rain Garden Workshops
Where: Lacey
When: January 15, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

OTHER DATES AND LOCATIONS ARE LISTED BELOW

Description: Please join Stewardship Partners and WSU Extension for a hands-on classroom workshop on rain garden design and construction. We have several classes scheduled throughout Puget Sound beginning January 15th in Lacey and January 22nd in Bellevue.

A rain garden consists of native trees, shrubs, herbs, and grasses planted in composted-amended soils in a shallow depression and strategically placed to effectively capture rainwater and slowly infiltrate it into the ground. Rain gardens work like native forests by capturing and infiltrating stormwater from rooftops, driveways, and other hard surfaces. Rain gardens reduce localized flooding; help recharge groundwater aquifers; provide beneficial wildlife habitat; and filter oil, grease and toxic materials before they can pollute local waterways.

Workshop participants will receive a rain garden handbook and other useful materials. They will also be invited to participate in several full scale rain garden installation workshops scheduled later in the spring and summer.

King County Rain Garden Classes:

Thursday, January 22: Bellevue, Bellevue City Hall
Thursday, February 12: Carnation, Carnation City Hall
Tuesday, March 3: Renton, Renton Technical College
Tuesday, March 17: Downtown Seattle, Seattle Aquarium
Thursday, March 26: Seattle Tilth in Wallingford
Thursday, April 23: South Seattle, NW Environmental Education Center

Thurston County Rain Garden Classes:

Thursday, January 15: Lacey
Thursday, April 2: Yelm
Thursday, April 16: Tumwater

Olympia: Date TBA

Pierce County Rain Garden Classes:

Thursday, February 5: Orting, Orting Library
Thursday, February 19: Tacoma, Snake Lake Nature Center
Thursday, March 5: Buckley, Multi Purpose Center
Thursday, March 19: Lakewood , Lakewood Water District HQ
Monday, April 20: University Place, City Hall
Thursday, April 30: Edgewood, Edgewood City Hall

Workshops are free and registration is required. Participants will be sent site-assessment instructions in advance to help maximize their learning at the workshops. Contact Becky Abbey at Stewardship Partners to register and for more details:

Call (206) 292-9875 or email ba@stewardshippartners.org and visit www.stewardshippartners.org for more rain garden information.

Ask us about our rain garden poster.

Cool Thurston Campaign – Global Warming Cafe

sarahclarke — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:59:29 +0000

What: Cool Thurston Campaign – Global Warming Cafe
Where: Thurston County Courthouse, Bldg 1, Room 152
When: Monday, March 2, 7:00PM – 9:00 PM
Description:

FROM CONSERVATION TO ACTION!

You’ll learn about a program, the Low Carbon Diet*, to help us lower our carbon
footprint and transfer this knowledge to our communities and workplaces.

You’ll Learn How To:
• Form a Low Carbon Diet “Eco-Team” with friends,
colleagues, co-workers or your faith community.
• Calculate your CO² footprint with an easy-to-use
“carbon calculator”
• Create “cool household systems” that save the
Earth while saving you money
• Take on “cool lifestyle practices” that reduce CO²
emissions without cramping your style.
*Based on the book: Low Carbon Diet, A 30 D

RSVP / for more information: Barb Scavezze
878-9901 or barb@scavezze.com

Who: Interested citizens, business owners, community
leaders, teachers, students, neighborhood
associations, non-profit organizations, clubs
and community groups, faith organizations.

Transportation: The Intercity Transit bus 44
serves the courthouse building every half hour
through the evening, until 10:00 pm. Rides
home can be arranged if your connecting bus
service ends early.

Bring: A mug to enjoy some hot apple cider and other
refreshments.

*Based on the book: Low Carbon Diet, A 30 Day
Program to Lose 5000 Pounds, by David Gershon

Muck Creek Salmon Homecoming

sarahclarke — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 04:03:52 +0000

Help greet the salmon at the Roy City Park in Roy, WA. Scheduled activities include:

Speakers and representatives of the Nisqually trive, City of Roy, Fort Lewis, Pierce County, Thurston County, restoration partner agencies and organizations
Salmon viewing
Educational displays and activities
Food and drinks

WHEN: January 24, 2009 – 10 AM to 2 PM
WHERE: Roy City Park, Roy, WA (directions below)

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED for this event. To volunteer, please contact Don Perry, Nisqually Natural Resources, (360) 438-8687 x 2143, or by email at dperry@nwifc.org

Directions to Roy City Park

From Olympia, Lacey, Yelm:

Take the Marvin Rd. exit from I-5 and proceed to Hwy. 510 toward Yelm. At the McKenna “Y” Hwy 510 turns into Hwy 507 . Continue straight on Hwy. 507 into Roy. Just before the highway turns right, turn left onto Water Street. Cross the railroad tracks then turn right onto Warren Street then turn left onto Water Street extension and drive to the City Park parking area.

From Eatonville:

Take Hwy. 702 headed toward McKenna. At the McKenna “Y” turn right onto Hwy. 507 and follow into Roy. Just before the highway turns right, turn left onto Water Street. Cross the railroad tracks then turn right onto Warren Street then turn left onto Water Street extension and drive to the City Park parking area.

From North of Roy:

Take Hwy. 7 headed south. At the Hwy. 507/Hwy. 7 “Y” take Hwy. 507 to the right. Follow 507 and just before the sharp curve turns left, turn right on Water Street. Cross the railroad tracks then turn right onto Warren Street then turn left onto Water Street extension and drive to the City Park parking area.

Kennedy Creek Pizza Party!

sarahclarke — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:26:18 +0000

Green Drinks

sarahclarke — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:45:14 +0000

Title: Green Drinks
Location: to be announced

Information:

If you care about the environment and want to meet like-minded folks, join us for a glass of beer or wine. There are no programs at Green Drinks. No one will talk at you for a half hour. Green Drinks is just a way to get acquainted with folks who share common values.

Some suggestions that people have given to make Green Drinks more effective:

o Bring a business card, so we can remember you.

o Bring materials about the work you do; pamphlets, articles, events, info, campaign stuff.

o For people already sitting at the tables, don’t be shy–move around from table to table to table – take advantage of the plethora of people and views.

Most importantly, if you see someone lingering, welcome them into your discussion!!!
Start Time: 5:30 pm
Date: 2009-01-07
End Time: 7:30 pm

Final Kennedy Creek Notes & Photos

sarahclarke — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:35:15 +0000

Today we removed all of the signs and netting at the Trail.

While we were there we took a look at what was happening in the creek.

There were amazingly a few live chum, but most of them were in an advanced state of decay.

Notice the whiteness in the water around the fish? It isn’t a reflection, it is (they are) actually saprophytic oomycetes or (water molds). These molds are a keen source of food for the caddisfly larvae that put on their best growth at the time of the fall salmon return. You’ll notice that in the late summer and early fall, the caddisfly larvae, encased in a sheath of sand and rock particles, develop on the rocks in the stream bed, growing big enough to roam around (Larry Dominguez, personal communication 12/12/08).

This life history is one that has adapted to specific types of available nutrients at a certain time of year. It is one of the mecahnisms for the absorption into the food chain of marine derived nutirents (Larry Dominguez, personal communication, 12/12/08).

Here is a photo that shows the entire stream bed covered by the water molds:

Now, we like to keep it real here at SPSSEG….

and we just couldn’t help ourselves from prodding some carcasses to see what was happening inside of them…

and just beneath them…

Maggots galore! Yet another way the marine-derived nutrients pass from salmon to others in the food chain.

Here’s a little video for those of you who are interested in some more maggot action ; )

LETS NOT FORGET THE WILDLIFE CAMERA!

This is the first year we installed a game camera to catch predators in the act of eating the Kennedy Creek chum. Though we did not catch anything like bear (though we know they’re out there!), we did get some critters on film. (Alas, there is always next year.)

This week it is clear to me that salmon are such an integral part of the health of this ecosystem. Even in death they provide for new generations of many different organisms. In nature it seems nothing goes to waste!

Join Us For Our Annual Meeting this January!

sarahclarke — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:34:55 +0000

AND APPLY FOR OUR NEW PROJECT MANAGER POSITION!

When: Thursday, January 22, 2009
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Where: Lacey Community Center
6729 Pacific Ave SE, Lacey, WA, 98503 map

Every January SPSSEG hosts our annual membership meeting. Of course, you do not have to be an SPSSEG member to attend this FREE EVENT. All are welcome to come enjoy refreshments, an SPSSEG restoration project showcase, and our keynote speakers!

Become a member to vote in new Board of Directors members and vote on amendments to our bylaws at the meeting.
By being a current SPSSEG member you are also eligible to elect up to three new members to the Board of Directors at the 2009 Annual Meeting. Click here to learn more about serving on the Board of Directors.

Our keynote address speakers this year are Billy Frank Jr., the Director of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and David Dicks, Director of the Puget Sound Partnership.

David Dicks is the Executive Director of the Puget Sound Partnership. Prior to his appointment to the Partnership, David was a partner at Cascadia Law Group PLLC, where he focused on Puget Sound issues, natural resource projects and facilitated the development of numerous Habitat Conservation Plans under the Endangered Species Act. He has earned national recognition as one of The Best Lawyers in America (2007 and 2008). He has also been recognized as one of Seattle Metropolitan’s 2007 Best Lawyers, and has been named a Rising Star by the readers of Washington Law & Politics magazine every year since 2005.

Kennedy Creek Videos

sarahclarke — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:03:52 +0000

Here is a selection of videos from this November:

Chums Swimming and Dying