Aidan Hersh - AmeriCorps Environmental Stewardship Coordinator
Restoring salmon habitat in Whatcom County is an ongoing effort, and while NSEA facilitates this effort by organizing community work parties, we would not be able to reach our restoration goals without the generosity and dedication of community volunteers. Throughout the spring of 2023, NSEA’s Stream Stewards program held 24 community work parties, both public and private, and partnered with a variety of local organizations, like the Whatcom Land Trust, Whatcom Conservation District, and Washington Native Plant Society. The result of these events was a whopping 2,925 volunteer hours dedicated to habitat restoration that put over 7,300 plants in the ground. Volunteers removed an additional 72 cubic yards of invasive vegetation that will give the newly planted native trees and shrubs some room to grow freely along the 1.8 miles of improved riparian habitat.
Planting native trees and shrubs at a work party is one of the first steps to restoring habitat, the reality is restoration sites require monitoring and maintenance to ensure success. NSEA’s project team monitors and maintains sites annually for three to five years until Mother Nature takes over. This spring featured some first-time events and new additions to the stewardship programming in another step in the restoration process. NSEA piloted a weekday volunteer opportunity called Stream Team, where volunteers went to restoration sites that are 10-20+ years old. They removed cages from trees that have outgrown them, collected stray blue tubes, and removed Himalayan blackberry growing around these trees. Since March, volunteers have participated in seven work parties along a quarter mile stretch of Fishtrap Creek that NSEA has been working on for 20 years.
Another first this spring was a private work party/birthday party that was held in May along Terrell Creek. While private work parties are nothing new to NSEA, this was the first time someone had requested one for a birthday celebration. Jesse, who gathered friends and family to celebrate his birthday, explained that for him it was “a great way to give back to the Earth”. His sentiment was inspiring, and it was beautiful to see someone decide, on their own accord, to participate in such a selfless activity on a day that is generally accepted as the one day it is okay to be selfish. We hope that Jesse’s attitude may inspire others looking to make a positive impact on their community and environment.
Join us this summer for our River Stewards summer work parties on the North and South Fork Nooksack. The schedule and registration can be found at