By Grace Pierstorff, AmeriCorps Environmental Education Coordinator

NSEA held the 12th Fish Trivia event in February at Zeeks Pizza, bringing together community members and partner organizations to test their fishy knowledge and in turn support NSEA’s education and stewardship programs. It has been a long two years since we hosted this event due to pandemic restrictions, and we were delighted to be able to safely host this event in-person with people, including some who have participated in this event for years.

Almost 90 people spread out over a total of 25 trivia teams such as “I Kokaneed you”, “The Adi-posers”, and “Redd or Dedd”, who all brought their A-game to compete for prizes, which were generously donated by local businesses including Confluence Fly Shop, Brandywine, Vital Climbing Gym, Makeworth Coffee, and Crazy but Cute Socks.

This year, for the first time, NSEA partnered with some of our local salmon recovery partners who each sponsored a round of trivia. Bellingham Technical College, North Sound Trout Unlimited, Whatcom Conservation District, and Whatcom Land Trust each prepared ten questions along with an NSEA round for a total of 50 questions. The competition was fierce, even resulting in a tie for 2nd and 3rd place, so emcee and new NSEA board member Tyler Dockins reached into the tiebreaker questions until a team emerged. “Onchy Ringers” took home the prize of first place, with “Death Roe” answering the tiebreaker question (the meaning of the word “Whatcom” in Lummi dialect) to take second and “The Righteous Earstones” taking third place.  

We are deeply grateful to everyone who made Fish Trivia a success this year. Tyler brought fun energy to the evening and led community members in engaging and informative trivia questions centered around salmon in Whatcom County. We couldn’t have done it without our community partners, and many people commented on the new facts they learned about salmon or their habitat requirements. Zeeks Pizza was a fabulous venue to host this event and we are grateful for their donation of $1 for each pint of beer purchased during the event. At the end of the night, over $1,000 was raised to support NSEA’s programming efforts that take place along salmon-bearing waterways throughout Whatcom County.

Fish Trivia was a wonderful way to connect with people who have joined us at Community Work Parties, attended a Salmon Sighting Event, or those whose first time it was engaging with NSEA. We were excited to be able to host this event in-person and enjoy a fun evening of laughter, fun, and brainteasers.