Linking water, land, wildlife and people through education, research and restoration.

1st grade students view salmon specimens while learning about the lifecycle of a Pacific Salmon.
New Volunteer Instructors run through lesson plans during a Volunteer Training Day.
At the Environmental Learning Center 3rd-5th grade students explore the importance of native plants in a watershed system.
By Maxwelton Creek 2nd grade students complete an activity to determine how much fresh, drinking water is available to us on Earth.
Outside the Outdoor Classroom 1st graders learn about the different ways water is filtered by nature.
On the Outdoor Classroom trails a group of 5th graders discuss different ways our community can work together to conserve water.
On the Outdoor Classroom trails a group of 4th graders design their own waterfront property in a lesson about watershed systems.
5th grade students observe and identify macro invertebrate species collected in Maxwelton Creek.
A group of 1st grade students learn about the life cycle of a Pacific Salmon.
Child observing nature with a homemade viewer, made from a blue tube with a red string, in a forest setting.
Children examining soil samples with magnifying glasses in an outdoor setting.
Group of people examining a wooden compost bin outdoors, with some leaves and a white bucket nearby.
Child in pink jacket using a tool to dig in soil outdoors, with a purple stuffed toy on the ground, surrounded by autumn leaves.
Children's hands touching a large tree cross-section with visible growth rings.
Group of children playing outdoors in a grassy field with trees in the background. They are running towards colorful markers and cones. The scene is sunny and appears to be a nature or park setting.

Watershed health is our passion.

Video: Whidbey Watershed Stewards is celebrated at the 2016 Thriving Communities Gathering

 

On Whidbey, there is a little salmon in all of us.

For salmon, surviving early life as an egg or fry defies all odds. Hiding in gravel, under rocks to survive and then – swoosh, downstream into the ocean. Now, young salmon must survive the daily drama of finding food, maybe in a kelp forest, avoiding predation and then off to the open ocean.  None of it is easy, every successful stage, staying alive, could easily be characterized as a miracle. But when we finally do witness a salmon on its final quest to pass their essence to the next generation, it’s a tribute to tenacity, a testament to a truly remarkable species.

The irony is not lost to us that our Outdoor Classroom finds its origins around this salmon story. All the people who have been there, growing right along with the Outdoor Classroom as it grew from one stage to the next. All of our students learn the story, the science, the ecological contribution salmon make to the environment. Built into the science story is an allegory about struggle, tenacity, about life. Those of us holding the torch today, (board, staff and volunteers) are standing on the shoulders of all who came before. On Whidbey, there is a little salmon in all of us.

Make a donation.

Your kids attend the Outdoor Classroom, raise salmon in their classrooms, and do hands-on oceanography projects with our education staff. You enjoy the occasional nature hike through Freeland Wetland Preserve or beach walk at Robinson Beach. You learn about protecting the Salish Sea at our Environmental Learning Center or information booth at a summer festival. If you have enjoyed these activities and places, you have experienced the fruit of our efforts at Whidbey Watershed Stewards.

We are grateful to all our volunteers and donors, large and small, for helping us do this critical work on our island.

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