From Victoria Hartman, Education Intern, on her internship experience:

 Over a six month period I was able to grow my knowledge and learn all about salmon and their impact on the environment around us alongside the youth of Skagit County. Each three month period consisted of classroom visits and outdoor field trips.

     During the first 3 months we laid the groundwork of salmon education. Teaching the students about the life cycle of salmon and how salmon are beneficial to their surroundings, starting with how long of a journey the spawning salmon have and the low survival rates in all stages of life. One fact that I learned during this program was out of 4,000 eggs, only 0-2 will end up surviving to spawning adulthood. To help students remember the different stages of a salmon’s life cycle we led them through a project of creating a beaded bracelet, where each bead color represented a different life stage. We also taught them how to memorize the 5 different species of salmon living in the Skagit River by using a “hand”y trick. Each finger represents a different species. Pinky for pink salmon, ring finger for silver (or coho) salmon, middle finger for king salmon, pointer finger for sockeye, and thumb for chum. 

     Following the initial lectures, we would take the students on excursions to the nearby streams to assess the area and have them decide if it possessed all the requirements to house happy salmon. We had them physically look around the stream, deciding if there was good enough gravel for the young salmon to live in as well as the amount of coverage provided by the trees surrounding the area. Once they deemed the external area a good spot for salmon we instructed them through a simplified water quality test. We had the students participate in testing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, pH levels, temperature, and turbidity (clarity) of the water. After compiling all of our collected data we had the students discuss if they thought the area was the best for salmon to live or not.

     Leading into my last three months in the program, we got to return to the schools to have them participate in a fun art project to help solidify their knowledge on salmon. There were a variety of projects to choose from, including bookmarks, comic strips, or tissue paper salmon. Before starting them on the project we’d ask them a few review questions and tell them how this project relates to their salmon memory. I personally helped design the layout for the tissue paper salmon, having the kids design and color their own salmon using a method that might have been new to them. During this time we also delivered 200 salmon eggs to each school and helped the kids raise them into healthy fry ready to release into the nearby streams.

     Once their little salmon were ready we went on the last field trips of the program to release them. Starting early in the morning we would visit the schools and fishnap the fry and get a count. Later that day, the students would meet up with us at the creek and we’d tell them how many of their fish survived and we would instruct them on how to safely release them into the wild. Some students were excited to help the environment, while others were sad to see their little fish friends go. After they got to release their salmon, we led them in a service project in the same area that would help improve the surrounding riparian forest. Whether it was removing invasive blackberry bushes or planting trees, the students were all excited to get their hands dirty and help out.

     As sad as I am that my internship has come to an end, the entire experience was one of a kind and I feel very fulfilled that I was able to help see so many young people gain new skills and knowledge as well as myself. I hope to continue seeing progress towards improving the life for salmon and the increased education and awareness in the younger generations.