An Inspiring Spring Season

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

Students release salmon this Spring

Mirah and a student from Eagleridge Elementary releasing a salmon

This Spring, thanks to funding through Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, (OSPI), NSEA provided supplies, curricula, and staff support to install freshwater aquariums in Acme, Kendall, Central, and Eagleridge Elementary Schools in conjunction with the Students for Salmon Program.  This program extension, now in its second year, intimately links students to the salmon lifecycle through raising salmon from eggs to fry in their classrooms.

 In late January, 200 Chum salmon eggs from the Kendall Creek Hatchery were dropped off and carefully placed in each aquarium, and students got to witness the stages of the salmon lifecycle unfold before their eyes. They learned that salmon need cold, clean, and clear water, and were responsible for testing the aquarium water to ensure it was ideal for salmon.

Eggs and Alevin is the aquarium.

The extension activity culminated with the release of the salmon fry after months of watching them grow up and caring for them. On their Students for Salmon field trip, students determined how healthy their local creek is for salmon, and then participated in a stewardship project to leave the creek their salmon were being released into a better place, setting their salmon up for success.

 Each student named their fish, made a wish or poem for their fish, and chose one action they can take in their lives to help salmon. One student wrote, “I wish you make it to adulthood. You bring us hope and joy. I wish you all the best.” As students released their baby salmon, many of them were sad to say goodbye after seeing their fish grow up over the past couple of months, but excited about seeing them in the wild, starting their journey to the ocean.

Sam and a student from Eagleridge Elementary releasing a salmon

 This incredible opportunity provides students a tangible example that their actions make a difference, and that responsible stewardship can help  salmon thrive like the ones they said goodbye to as they released them into their local waterways. This school year  219 students released over 650 salmon fry into 3 creeks – Cedar Creek, Kendall Creek, and Landingstrip Creek. We are excited to announce that, thanks to funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we will be expanding this opportunity  next school year for all elementary schools in the Ferndale, Mount Baker, Nooksack, Lynden, Meridian, and Blaine School Districts, ensuring every fourth grader attending a Whatcom County Public School has the opportunity to participate, while broadening the impact students are making on salmon recovery in our region.