By Nathan Zabel
NSEA Environmental Education Coordinator
The 2020 – 2021 school year was a lesson in being adaptable and flexible in NSEA’s Environmental Education programming, and we were faced with a quick transition to remote learning and the inability to meet students in their classrooms and along waterways throughout Whatcom County. Yet, NSEA’s Education Team continued to embrace the importance of environmental stewardship even in a time of remote learning.
The school year ended with an incredible highlight – sailing excursions aboard Sound Experience’s Schooner Adventuress. This Spring, thanks to funding from EPA, we partnered with Sound Experience and offered a contest to incentivize continued environmental stewardship even in times of remote learning. Teachers submitted their projects, including this video (link) which was submitted by Harmony Elementary. These students created a mural showcasing the Pacific salmon lifecycle, then developed, practiced, and directed a video highlighting the lifecycle along with their “salmon pledges,” or actions they can take in their everyday lives to help salmon. In early June, these Harmony students boarded the 133 foot Adventuress, rigged the sails of the 108 year sailboat, and set sail into Bellingham Bay. While on board, they studied the local marine life, such as Orcas and Harbor Seals, and connected the importance of salmon to these marine mammals. Next, they tossed a plankton tow overboard to collect a sample of plankton. They took the sample to the video microscope, where they got to see tiny organisms like crab larvae and other plankton which salmon rely on as a food source. They looked out to the horizon and identified landmarks such as Mt. Baker and the Nooksack River – all components of their watershed.
This experience connected students to their sense of place from a unique perspective. It also provided a look into the marine environment that is such a crucial component of the salmon lifecycle. NSEA’s Students for Salmon program highlights stewardship that leaves a positive impact along riparian zones through removing invasive vegetation or planting native trees and shrubs. This experience connected those actions students take downstream, to the marine environment, and showcased how students’ choices not only affect the salmon living in their local creeks, but also in Bellingham Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
We are grateful to Sound Experience for their partnership, and honored to be able to continue meet students and their teachers in this unique capacity. For more information about NSEA’s Education programs, please contact Nathan Zabel at nzabel@n-sea.org or call 360-312-3094.