View our latest posts: From the Field

Shout out to AmeriCorps!

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March 4-11 is AmeriCorps Week.  Since 1997 SFEG has been fortunate to have one or more members of one or more branches of AmeriCorps serving to complete salmon habitat restoration and community engagement programs in the Skagit and Samish River watersheds.

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KayLani Siplin and Taylor Schmuki

This year KayLani Siplin, serving through Washington Service Corps, is teaching local youth about salmon habitat and engaging them in service-learning projects to cultivate a sense of stewardship of our natural world.

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Casey Costello, from WCC year 2011-12

Taylor Schmuki, serving through Washington Conservation Corps, is coordinating our native plant nursery and assisting our field staff with on-the-ground salmon habitat restoration projects.

In addition, each year SFEG employs the services of at least one Washington Conservation Corps crew of 6 individuals and others to help implement salmon habitat restoration projects throughout our project boundaries.  Since 1997 no fewer than 36 young men and women have passed through SFEG’s doors as AmeriCorps members, and many more as members of AmeriCorps crews.  Four of those were subsequently hired on as SFEG staff. In that time, they have potted and planted hundreds of thousands of native plants, counted thousands of spawning salmon, engaged thousands of people in stewardship, and much more.  SFEG and many other nonprofits around the country

not all glamorous

Mitch Biggs, WCC crew leader, shows that it’s not all glamorous work!

simply could not have done all that we have without them!

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Katie Lutz, WSC 2011-12

Bringing art and science together

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During the month of December, the SFEG’s Junior Stream Stewards (JSS) program offers an optional art project to the schools involved, giving the students the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned though the program up to this point. In the past, students have created bookmarks showing the complex salmon life cycle and have created collages highlighting aspects of salmon habitat and the Pacific Northwest.

This year, WSC Education Associate KayLani Siplin took on some new ideas. 7th and 8th grade students at both Concrete Elementary and Conway Elementary are in the process of creating murals that showcase icons of their area as well as the salmon that live there. Each student got a section of the mural KayLani designed to color however they wanted using oil pastels. Once all of the pieces are finished, each piece will be put together like a quilt and hung up in the hallway of the schools for all to see. Neither will likely be finished until January, but what has been done so far shows an assortment of bright colors that will come together to be a very interesting piece.

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The 7th graders at Edison Elementary used the mediums of watercolor, crayons and salt for their project. Students were asked to (as accurately as possible using those scientific observations we all hope they’ve been making) paint either salmon or things relating to salmon and their habitat. A wide range of designs arose, from bears eating salmon to streams running through forested landscapes. Some of the pieces may not have been entirely accurate (there may have been a shark eating a bear), but it gets them thinking about it.

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Many students complained that “I’m not good at art” or “she’s so much better at it than me” and initially it discouraged some. But after discussing how everyone has their own style and that their style won’t change if they don’t keep at it, a little bit more effort was put into the projects. Some faces even lit up when their piece turned out better than they were expecting. Things of course got a little messy, but it is to be expected when students have the opportunity to learn, have fun and be creative all at the same time.

Click here to find out more about SFEG’s education programs!

 

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A Day of Rapids and Trash Removal on the Cascade River

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Back in October our field crew went on a rafting mission to finish out the field season

By Lindsey Juen

In October, field season was nearly over but one project remained.  We were on a garbage reconnaissance mission. With extra clothes packed in dry bags and thermoses full of hot tea, the SFEG field crew put our rafts into the Cascade River. With the help of Shane and Andrea (aka Mama River) of Chinook Expeditions we finally got to spend a day on the water instead of only beside it!

FieldCrewRaftLoaded It was mostly a float trip but a few rough rapids got the best of us and tossed two crew members into the river. Joe grabbed Stephanie by her feet before she took the plunge while Jenn was thrown overboard into the rapids. Fast thinking and adrenaline kicked in as she grabbed the side ropes of the raft and held on for quite a ride. The on-board crew steadied the boat as Joe grabbed Jenn’s life jacket and pulled her out of the water. Our hero! Steph had a GoPro running the whole time and we couldn’t get back to the office and watch the replay over and over again.

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We reached the point at which the trash was staged by the river and loaded the two rafts with tires and a completely water logged futon mattress. The rest of the trip was calm and beautiful with the sun shining through the fog onto the mountains surrounding us. With heavier loads, one of the two boats got stuck on rocks at a shallow point but was quickly freed by the crews synchronized paddling.

 

After reaching the endpoint of our river journey, we unloaded the boats and loaded the trash into the work truck. We ate lunch with our guides by the river as we watched fishermen try to catch their salmon dinners.

After a trip to the dump, we returned to the office eager to watch the videos of our exciting day. We skipped through the footage to the point where people were supposed to be flying out of the boat and the video stopped! We couldn’t believe it! With nearly the entire office troubleshooting with us, we could not find a way to recover the lost footage. It will always be in our memories, but no one else will ever see the excitement. Oh well!dscf2900