S.A.V.E. the Earth Club

Comment by Penny Green on August 27, 2008 at 10:15am

Good stuff, Beth. Your really on it!

Comment by Kristi on September 4, 2008 at 12:36pm

Still in Texas, Miss u all! Look foward to seeing u in the fall.
Kristi

Comment by Thomas W Murphy on September 8, 2008 at 10:51am

See the following opinion piece from one of our community partners that appeared in Sunday's Herald.

GUEST COMMENTARY

Restoring Puget Sound, one muddy step at a time

By Charles L.R. Johnstone

I recently spent a beautiful summer dawn shooting eagles and a blue heron on my beach. But don't worry -- the only weapon I use is a camera.

Few of us can look out their window and see herons, eagles and kingfishers as the first rays of sun creep over the Cascade Mountains. Our way of life in the Puget Sound region is unmatched anywhere in the world. But with the blessing of living in such a unique and beautiful place comes responsibility, both to the sound and to future generations who will enjoy and rely on it.

Beginning my 20th year as one of the civil servant guardians of Puget Sound's purity, I try to make sure people and industries treat drains and toilets like recycling bins, not trash cans -- because not everything we dump or flush can be removed by municipal treatment systems, and what cannot ends up out there in the sound.

I've also learned about the profound impacts of human development on this special piece of water because I've been lucky enough to live on the sound for many years. It's become clear to me that cleaning up and protecting Puget Sound must be the work of many. It's a commitment I've realized will literally need to span generations and decades to come.

I play my part in this collective effort by volunteering as a Sound Steward with People For Puget Sound, part of the MudUp campaign. The MudUp campaign encourages the public to get involved in cleanup and education events all around the sound. From restoration work parties to beach celebrations, MudUp gives everyone, young and old, a chance to join the cause.

MudUp is a project of the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines, a partnership of conservation groups that are working to support the state's 2020 Puget Sound restoration initiative by taking immediate action to create new parks, restore the shoreline, support positive legislation and reconnect people from all walks of life to the sound. With the help of people like you and me, the alliance has already completed three of the parks, restored 38 miles of shoreline and improved protections on 872 miles more.

On Sept. 20, People For Puget Sound is hosting a work party at Union Slough, just south of Marysville off Highway 529, to continue our vital work of eradicating invasive weeds like Scotch Broom, Himalayan Blackberry and Knotweed. While they seem harmless -- Scotch Broom's yellow flowers add a splash of color and blackberry bushes provide a tasty summer snack -- they choke native growth, disrupt the balance of nature in our beach areas and need to be controlled. The Scotch Broom even bears the ominous title of "Class B Noxious Weed." But don't worry; it's not poisonous.

I'm proud of our progress at Union Slough so far. We've cleared more than a half-mile of bank (more than 50,000 square feet!) since last year, thanks mostly to the hard work of the volunteers. Some of our best work is with young people, like students from local middle schools who have come to walk the beach with a naturalist and learn about Puget Sound ecology and native species first-hand and why it's important to pick up after your pooch; and then try their hand at ripping out the invasive weeds. There's nothing like first-hand experience to really make an education sink in, and show your connections to the world around you.

Union Slough is a special place for me. Sure, it's a former pasture turned 25-acre tidal wetland, sandwiched between noisy highways with a mountain of work to do. But to me it also symbolizes our sound's recovering health, and the importance of personal involvement in the health of our community. The way we treat places like Union Slough reflects how we treat ourselves.

There is still much work to be done. But if we all do our part, the collective effort can help bring Puget Sound back to health, and keep it there in the future.

Our quality of life is tied to the health of Puget Sound. We have a vested interest in preserving this special place -- for ourselves, the other species that depend on it and on whom we depend, not to mention for the next generations and our way of life.



Charles Johnstone is an industrial waste inspector for the City of Everett, a freelance photographer/writer, and a Sound Steward with People For Puget Sound.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080907/OPINION03/709079984&SearchID=73329338862539

Comment by Thomas W Murphy on September 8, 2008 at 2:31pm

Puget Sound Bird Fest!

Puget Sound Bird Fest is coming up, September 12-14, and you won’t want to miss this year’s celebration of birds and nature in Edmonds. The festival begins Friday evening, at the Edmonds Conference Center, 201 Fourth Avenue North, with the “On Wing” art show artists’ reception at 6:30 pm and Bird Fest keynote speaker wildlife artist Bart Rulon at 7:30 pm. Everyone is welcome and no registration is required.

Bird Fest gets going again early Saturday morning, with a 2-hour birding cruise on Puget Sound, hosted by members of the Edmonds Yacht Club. Pre-registration is required for this, and a few other field trips on Sunday. All other Bird Fest activities are free. Saturday has a full schedule of speakers, at the Frances Anderson Center, 700 Main Street, including three live raptor presentations by Sarvey Wildlife Center. There will be a special children’s activity area on Saturday, also in the Frances Anderson Center.
Next door in the Plaza Room you’ll find registration, hospitality, and a Marketplace of vendors and exhibitors. There will be arts and crafts for sale including pottery, glass, felt hats, photography, decorated birdhouses, and much more. Just outside the door you can find the right plants for your backyard habitat at our native plant sale. When you get hungry, it’s a short walk to a variety of fine restaurants and cafes in downtown Edmonds.
If you don’t have time on Saturday to shop, you can come back Sunday to the Plaza Room. And don’t forget to pick up a map and go on the self-guided tour of Backyard Wildlife Habitats around Edmonds! There is so much to do at this wonderful community festival that you owe it to yourself to visit the website and view the complete schedule at http://www.pugetsoundbirdfest.org/index.htm
There you’ll find all the details, including registration instructions. See you at Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds!

Comment by Thomas W Murphy on September 8, 2008 at 4:14pm

National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program awards fellowship grants to undergraduate and graduate students who are committed to reduce their campus carbon footprint; projects including: greenhouse gas inventories, climate action plans, energy conservation and efficiency, habitat restoration, convening climate action gatherings and more will be considered.

Grant awards:  
Up to $2000 for Undergraduate Students
Up to $5000 for Graduate Students

Fall deadline: October 1, 2008. Additional submission deadlines throughout the year.

Visit www.nwf.org/fellows for details about the Campus Ecology Fellowship program.

Comment by Thomas W Murphy on September 11, 2008 at 11:22am

Do you want to volunteer with the Cascade Citizens Wildlife Monitoring Program? They are taking volunteers for this winter's snow tracking program. Kerrie and I will be leading teams of snow trackers as part of the winter LEAF School but you can also volunteer with the group on your own. For more details see the link below.

http://www.wildernessawareness.org/adult/workshops_stewardship_programs.html

Comment by Yin on September 19, 2008 at 8:02pm

Hey everyone..
I forgot to remind everyone of the shuttle service next week. It comes every 20 minutes from 8am-2pm.

http://www.edcc.edu/campus/images/shuttle.pdf

Comment by Thomas W Murphy on September 22, 2008 at 9:32am

I wanted to welcome all those new to the Ning site and the two club(s)--soon to become one. Please come this Thursday evening to cast your vote for our officers.

Thanks to Lisa, Ryan, Yin, and Giti for coming to my talk at Everett Public Library. Cudos and thanks to Beth for joining SEA in Commencement Bay for a wet service project and an excursion aboard the Indigo. You did an excellent job leading one of the stations.

Comment by Thomas W Murphy on September 22, 2008 at 9:56am

I'd like to extend an invitation to all of you to hear Jim Mattila, from the University of Washington, speak on the "Little Redfish Lost," at the Northwest Stream Center in McCollum Park on Tuesday evening. If you're interested in fisheries then this promises to be a very interesting presentation. See the invitation pasted below from the Sno-King Watershed Council (one of the activist groups I belong to). Let me know if you plan to join me there and I'll take care of the RSVP.

Hi all -

You are again welcome and invited to attend our Sno-King Watershed Council General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, September 24, 7 p.m., at the Adopt-A-Stream Center in south Everett! If you don't already know where it is, you can go to www.streamkeeper.org for directions. Feel free to invite other stream-lovers and fellow environmental activists, or just anyone you think would be interested. If you are in a stream or environmental group, please forward this on to other members of your group to let them know.

The main feature of our meeting is going to be a thought-provoking slide show by Jim Mattila on Kokanee in the Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish basins. Jim grew up in this area fishing and exploring local streams, and left another career to study fish biology and ecology. He has studied scientific literature on Kokanee from the 1800's to the present, as well as conducted independent research. Jim has some very interesting observations about the historical importance of Kokanee, current priorities, how the "conventional wisdom" about them may not be correct, and some actions we can take. Currently in the Lake Sammamish area a number of groups are petitioning for an Endangered Species listing for the Kokanee. If it is granted or even expanded to include Lake Washington tributaries it could have large implications for our local streams. I have attached a "teaser" slide from Jim's presentation showing a drawing from the 1930's of Kokanee in Swamp Creek. Did you know that in the 1930's Swamp Creek was famous for its Kokanee?

Other items on the meeting agenda include:
Updates from our Political Action and Technical committees on what they are doing
A chance to report to others on what your group is doing
Possible report from member of People for Puget Sound on implications of recent WA Pollution Control Board ruling mandating Low Impact Design "where possible"
Learn about an upcoming training session at AAS to be a volunteer Salmon Watcher and watch for salmonids including Kokanee
Please come to our meeting if you can! Also, don't feel obligated, but if you have the chance to RSVP back to help us figure how many to plan for that would be helpful. We hope to see you there!

Eric Adman for the Sno-King Watershed Council

Comment by Thomas W Murphy on September 23, 2008 at 2:42pm

I should have said Wednesday, Sept. 24th, for the Jim Mattila presentation. Sorry for the confusion.

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