With Blooming Plants Comes Blooming Volunteers
There’s a saying that goes “a harsh winter is always followed by spring.” What they don’t mention is with blooming plants comes blooming volunteers—ready and eager to work. This month we had two potting parties, along with weekly opportunities, for volunteers to come out and provide new homes for our baby plants. Despite rain, snow, and sleet, our volunteers stepped up to the challenge. Our first party started with a snow storm that turned into a sunny day; while the second party it rained the whole time. Still, we had record breaking numbers for the nursery. In March we had a total of 79 volunteers donating over 200 hours of work, potted 3,085 plants, built 18 capillary beds, staked 228 willows, and helped re-organize more than half of the nursery. Along with that, we had some great characters at the parties that prove anyone can help make a difference.
From Sedro-WoolleyHigh School students , Crown Distributing, Harvest Vision Ministries, to SFEG regulars, every single volunteer proved that anyone can give a baby planta new home. We had a volunteer who potted her very first plant to one who did their thousandth. There were kids pulling wheelbarrows twice their size and sometimes they would let one of our more mature volunteers assist them. Families brought their kids to teach the importance of service and kids spent their time trying to explain to adults how to pot. Crown boys were tossing pots without dropping a speck of soil and high school students left the day with their faces covered in mud. We even had one of our Dick Knight Award winners showing us his dance moves in one of our capillary beds. In fact, I had one volunteer messing around with me who just kept saying, “I just don’t want to let you down Taylor. I just want to make you proud.” Well, I am very proud and super grateful to all our volunteers for their help. What a perfect manifestation of what spring is really about: new life, new growth, and a little more sunshine in our lives.
By Taylor Schmuki
![Today is Endangered Species Day, an internationally recognized day of learning about endangered species and what you can do to help them. According to Skagit County, "three Skagit watershed salmonid species have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. [Additionally, the] Orca whales that feed on these fish have been listed as “endangered,” a more serious classification that triggers the most protective regulations".
Those listed are:
Puget Sound Chinook Salmon (anadromous; listed 1999)
Puget Sound Bull Trout (some anadromous; listed 1999)
Puget Sound Steelhead (an anadromous form of rainbow trout; listed 2007)
NOAA Fisheries has listed 28 population groups of salmon and steelhead on the West Coast as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act - you can read the recovery plans for the genetically different salmon runs from the National Oceaninc and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the link in our bio for more information.
Pictured: Puget Sound Chinook (photo by Jess Newley)
Juvenile Skagit Steelhead
#skagitfisheries #habitatrestoration #skagitsalmon #conservation #pnw #saveoursalmon #healthywatersheds #magicskagit✨ #internships #nonprofit](https://www.skagitfisheries.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
