Volunteer Profile-Rick Machin


We recently asked longtime volunteer Rick Machin to tell us how he got acquainted with SFEG and what inspires him to keep volunteering. Here is his response:

"Shortly after moving to Skagit County, I saw an announcement in the Skagit Valley Herald about SFEG's annual meeting and decided to attend. (Okay, the location, Skagit River Brewery, was a definite draw.) I was impressed with the variety of folks who showed up, and with the review of the previous year's accomplishments. The meeting piqued my interest in the group's volunteer activities. I participated in the spring 1999 plantings, first at the Fire Mountain Boy Scout Camp and again at a site near Darrington, followed by a field vegetation monitoring effort with Jim Thomas near Blanchard. Since then, I've enjoyed more monitoring, plantings and work parties at the nursery. More than a year ago, I became a board member of another conservation-oriented local group, The San Juan Preservation Trust, but luckily the two have varying time requirements, so it's a pleasure to remain active with SFEG. It's easy to look forward to our activities because of Lucy's enthusiasm and organization. The hands-on instant reward of planting trees and salmon recovery is immensely satisfying. I grew up in the Midwest but have chosen this part of the country for my home, and now it's great to be a small part of enhancing the survivability of the icon of the Pacific Northwest, the wild salmon."

Rick Machin, of Anacortes, has been a volunteer with SFEG for several
years. He is a wonderful asset to our organization and is a tremendous
help in carrying out volunteer planting parties.