Students for Salmon Returns for Another Year of Outdoor Education
At the end of last year, changes in the funding landscape for nonprofits cast a shadow of uncertainty on the future of the Students for Salmon program. But teachers, community members, and funders pulled together to keep the program alive. Together, we reached nearly 1,600 students from 68 classrooms all over Whatcom County, exceeding our goal for the 2025-2026 school year.
For over 25 years, NSEA’s Students for Salmon program has taught fourth graders about the importance of salmon. Through an interactive lesson in their classroom, students learn about the five species of Pacific salmon, their life cycle, and what habitat they need to be healthy. Then, the students venture out to investigate a local stream near their school. On this field trip, they have the chance to put together everything they’ve been learning in class by rotating through three different stations to determine whether the creek and its riparian zone are healthy for salmon. Using the same scientific tools and methods as real ecologists, these young scientists study water quality, macroinvertebrates (the aquatic bugs salmon fry eat), and native plants.
The highlight of the field trip is their restoration project where students improve the habitat through activities like invasive plant removal, litter pickup, and tree planting. I love watching them work together as a team – laughing, chatting, and collaborating to pull out tough vines or delegating tasks amongst each other to get as much done as they can. This year, students removed 4,440 pounds of invasive vegetation along 15 different creeks!
Part of what makes their restoration project so impactful is that the creek they study and restore is the same one where they release the salmon fry that they raise from tiny eggs. In January, each school received 250 chum or coho salmon eggs and raised them until they reached the fry stage, giving students a chance to witness the salmon lifecycle firsthand and form a personal connection to salmon. When it was time to say goodbye, each class released their salmon, giving each one a name and sending them off with a wish or a poem. In total, students and community members released over 4,000 salmon fry into local creeks last spring. With some luck, if students return to the same creek three to five years from now, they might just see their salmon again.
Thank you so much to our generous funders, the local community, and to the dedicated teachers who have worked so hard to help us provide outdoor education opportunities to youth across Whatcom County. Over this past year, I have witnessed just how impactful this program is. Field trip chaperones had the chance to watch their own kids continue to restore the same sites they planted when they were fourth graders. Teachers have told me the Students for Salmon program is their students’ only opportunity to attend outdoor field trips. At the end of every field trip, at least one student asks me how they can participate in more restoration work. The message from these conversations is clear: Students for Salmon is pivotal in engaging the community to recover wild salmon for future generations.
By Harper Huntington, Education Coordinator