Environmental Education

Volunteer Opportunities and Action Projects

Earth Day 2008 - community events and actions around Washington State

Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group - Mission is to perpetuate and enhance the genetic diversity and stocks of wild salmon in Hood Canal through the protection and restoration of salmon habitat, stewardship and research for watershed and marine ecosystems, and community education and outreach.

Hood Canal News – Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen, Hood Canal water quality, local restoration and monitoring projects, homeowner information, and more.

Island County Beach watchers - Since 1989, more than 300 Island County citizens have completed Beach Watcher training. annually giving back more than 20,000 hours of volunteer service - collecting data, evaluating water quality, talking with the public, conducting tours and classes, and doing hands-on work such as removing invasive weeds from fragile estuaries. High standards, creative programs, educational and diverse with a niche for every volunteer.

Washington State University (WSU) Beach watchers - Programs in 7 North Puget Sound Counties.

Watershed Master / Beach Watchers - Mason County, in partnership with WSU .

Long Live the Kings
Mission is to restore wild salmon to the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Site contains good information on local restoration activities, recovery projects. Also covers endangered species act, current events and history of salmon, and many excellent salmon links.

NatureMapping
This program is creating a national network that links natural resource agencies, academia and land planners with local communities, primarily through schools' monitoring data. Its approach is to train individuals to become aware of their natural resources and to provide the tools to inventory and monitor their resources.

Padilla Bay Reserve Research and Monitoring
Water quality monitoring conducted by citizens, students and scientists. Also fellowship and internship programs.

Washington Conservation Corps (WCC)
WCC is a young-adult job-training and service program that performs environmental restoration projects for state, federal, and local agencies in the state of Washington. They also design and build outdoor classrooms for individual schools to use the environment as an integrating context for math, science, social studies and language arts.

Whatcom Watersheds Pledge Program
This program provides citizens and businesses in Whatcom County, Washington with information about how they can protect and improve rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater. In addition to water quality sampling and habitat restoration, the Pledge Program results in commitments from households, businesses and community institutions to reduce pollution. Already, more than 400 businesses and 800 households in Whatcom County have taken the pledge. These materials can be customized to other local watershed needs. For more information, contact David Laws, (360) 676-6573, dlaw461@ecy.wa.gov.

Liberty Lake Watershed Pledge Program - A Spokane community action project provides citizens with information about how to protect and improve rivers, streams, lakes, and groundwater. The pledge takes residents through a checklist of practices that can be adopted in the home to prevent pollution and take pride in protecting the lake, river, and aquifer.