Salish Sea Stewards

Skagit Marine Resources Committee (MRC)

SALISH SEA STEWARDS

and

Beach Naturalist

Program

Spring and Summer 2014

Salish Sea Stewards Program

The Salish Sea Stewards Programis apilot program of the Skagit County Marine Resources Committee for 2014*. It is intended to provide general background information about marine ecology of Skagit waters (and the Northwest Straits and Salish Sea) to local residents and students, and to serve as anentry point for volunteers to become involved in marine conservation, restoration, education and citizen science in Skagit County.

The Salish Sea Stewards program will consist of approximately 40-hours of training (including 2 field trips) in March and April, and approximately 10 – 15 hours of elective project-specific training in research and monitoring or education and outreach. The elective project-specific trainings are coordinated by various organizations and institutions and programs that volunteers will be engaging in for their service. One of the elective tracks for education and outreach will include a 15-hour “Beach Naturalist” training that will engage volunteers in being Beach Naturalists at Washington Park for school groups in spring and the general public in the summer.

Following the training, Salish Sea Stewards are expected to return service hours in any of the Skagit MRC or“partner” projects – including all agencies, institutions, organizations and programs that work in watershed or estuarine / marine-related conservation activities. Some of the potential programs for Sea Stewards to contribute to following training are shown below.

The Salish Sea Stewards are also encouraged to contribute to the individual institutionswhich have conservation and education opportunities and to expand the capacity of any individual programs they are involved in. Coordination of the Sea Stewards’ activities will be the responsibility of the project-owner after the Salish Sea Stewards Program Coordinator has facilitated the initial enrollment of volunteers with an organization. The Salish Sea Stewards Program coordinator will provide ongoing coordination of the Beach Naturalist program separately. Following completion of the training and project-specific training, occasional educational opportunities for Sea Stewards will be organized by the program Coordinator in order to maintain enthusiasm and group camaraderie as well and continue an expansion of volunteer engagement.

Effort has been made in the development of the Salish Sea Stewards program to collaborate with partners in the curriculum for training, so that trainees receive a well-rounded training background and so presenters (local experts from various agencies and institutions) are not required to duplicate presentations to different groups. The program is also intended to be complementary to existing programs, rather than competitive or redundant.

See the flow chart below for details on the Salish Sea Stewards Program

Beach naturalists receive approximately 15 hours of training in intertidal ecology, beach etiquette, local geography and culture, and interpretive skills. This training overlaps with some of the Salish Sea Stewards training, but is separate, allowing for volunteers to take ONLY Beach Naturalist training if they desire.

Upon graduation from the training, Beach Naturalists are scheduled to meet school groups at Washington Park to provide guidance and interpret beach ecology to the students and supervisors. Beach Naturalists will also provide interpretive opportunities at the Washington Park beach on low tides in the summer and have publicized guided beach walk events for the community. The Beach Naturalists will also staff outreach events such as Fidalgo Bay Day and National Estuaries Day and other public activities where opportunities for interpretation are appropriate.

Beach Naturalist volunteers may also participate in beach monitoring and data collection projects in collaboration with MRC or partner groups. It is recommended but not required for the Beach Naturalists to complete the 3-hour Citizen Science portion of Salish Sea Stewards training for their roles in monitoring.

For more information contact Nancy Olsen, Program coordinator