SPSSEG Calendar

Meetings:

SPSSEG Board of Directors Meetings will now be held on the fourth Thursday of the month!

Join us on Thursday, May 22, 5:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.

for our Board of Directors Meeting, held at the

Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Conference Room

6700 Martin Way East, Suite 106

Olympia, WA

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Volunteer Opportunities:

Nisqually Stream Stewards Training and Related Events

Do you want to help the environment, get to know a local watershed and be part of an enthusiastic and respected team of volunteers? Become a Nisqually Stream Steward! Training involves seven evening classes and four field tours scheduled throughout the Nisqually watershed. Some tours are scheduled in places where most folks have never had an opportunity to visit, such as the prairies on Fort Lewis and restoration sites at the Braget Marsh and Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. The training this year features some very interesting speakers and don't forget: this valuabe course is offered for FREE and there is limited seating space. This class usually fills fast, so if you or someone you know is interested, please contact Don Perry to reserve a space in the class. View the class schedule, including contact information .

Citizens for a Healthy Bay

Lend a hand on restoration projects in the Commencement Bay area. Citizens for Healthy Bay has four new projects for you to take part in. Plant some native plants, remove invasive species, and assist with goose exclusion fencing. Visit their calendar of events now to find the perfect event.

Get muddy for Puget Sound!  Visit the Mud Up campaign's website for the latest restoration volunteer events throughout the Puget Sound!  www.mudup.org

Community Events:

Are you concerned about the health of Puget Sound?

Be nice to Budd!

In recent years, the sound has experienced declining marine life and seabird populations. In many places people can't safely eat the clams, mussels and oysters due to high levels of contaminants. The local Orca and salmon populations (totems of the Pacific Northwest) are sliding toward extinction.  In 2003, dead zones or areas of low oxygen partly attributed to sewage and fertilizer runoff begun to suffocate a significant amount of marine life in hood canal.  

In 2005, Governor Gregoire announced an ambitious plan to clean up Puget Sound by 2020.  The effort to clean up the Sound is being lead by the Puget Sound Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, People for Puget Sound, and many other state and local agencies.  Yet it is only through mass public involvement and education that a healthy sound will be realized. 

We are all connected to the Sound and one place to start getting involved is in our own backyards.  Please join the City of Olympia in it's Be nice to Budd campaign.  Throughout April and May there will be eight educational and action events centered around Budd inlet and the health of Puget Sound.  Do your part, come to three events, and receive a free Nikki McClure tote bag.  View a flyer with more detailed information.

Welcome Home Swan Creek Salmon...Fun and education for all ages were highlights of Swan Creek Park's 4th Salmon Saturday

The 4th annual Salmon Saturday in Swan Creek Park was held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Dec. 8th, 2007. Visitors had the chance to watch salmon make their way upstream in an urban setting. The event included tours of the park to see the returning salmon, children’s activities, and salmon-friendly home and gardening information.

“Swan Creek Park is a hidden jewel, with a rich ecosystem, including rare plants, and an amazing history,” said Sue Bernstein, one of the event organizers. “We want to educate the public about the watershed and engage people of all ages in activities that cultivate environmental stewardship.”

The event was sponsored by Friends of Swan Creek Watershed and HFJ Community Services. Also participating were Tacoma’s EnviroChallenger Program, Green Tacoma Partnership, Cascade Land Conservancy and Tahoma Audubon Society.

There is still time to see the Swan Creek Chum. Enter the park at the Pioneer Way East entrance, located between River and Waller roads, near Barkers Barn and the Clay Art Center. For information contact Sue Bernstein of Friends of Swan Creek Watershed at 253-472-7264 or swancreek@prodigy.net.

"Sound Gardens Save Salmon" (SGSS) Restoration Event A Huge Success! We had an amazing turn out for the planting and invasive ivy pulling that signaled the start of our new education program, Sound Gardens Save Salmon (SGSS). More than 50 people, mostly families from Lowell Elementary School, attended the restoration event held at Puget Creek Gulch on Saturday, November 24th. Puget Creek, a 6-acre natural area in Tacoma's North End, is one of only three salmon-bearing streams within the city limits. Jacqui Elliott of Bioscience Education and Research Consulting and Sheila Gortler Coughlin of Sage Garden Designs developed the SGSS curriculum as part of a grant awarded to SPSSEG by the Tacoma Make a Splash Grant Program. SGSS is being tested at Lowell Elementary before it is made available to other schools. The goal of the program is to educate our community about how what they put on their gardens and down their storm drains impacts Puget Sound and the salmon that spawn in our local streams and creeks. Visit our page entitled Making a Difference to lean more about how you can be a salmon-friendly gardener. Thanksgiving to all the families who attended the planting and showed their intense commitment to salmon and, and for modeling their choice to take action to their children. We are also grateful to Scott Hansen, of the Puget Creek Restoration Society, for coordinating and managing our happy group. Special thanks to Metropolitan Market and Starbucks, both located in the Proctor Business District, for supplying refreshments for this event. Metropolitan Market also donated 25 of their new reusable shopping bags.

Visit the Washington State Department of Ecology for information on other environmental education events in and around our area.

Be sure to also check the Puget Sound Partnership's calendar for details on other interesting meetings and scientific workshops on Puget Sound environmental issues. The Puget Sound Partnership was developed in response to Governor Christine Gregoire's 2005 Initiative to develop an aggressive 15-year plan to solve Puget Sound's most vexing problems. "Cleaning and protecting Puget Sound must be at the top of our state agenda. But I know from experience that state government can't do it alone," she said. The Partnership consists of 17 members, four legislative liaisons, and is co-chaired by the Governor with Jay Manning, Director of the Department of Ecology, serving as her alternate; Billy Frank, Jr., Chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission; and Bill Ruckelhaus, Chair of the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. The public is welcome to attend the Partnership's regular meetings.

To get your event posted contact Sarah: sarahc@spsseg.org

Updated April 4, 2008

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