GiveBIG Fundraiser for NOSC

Friends, family, elves and wizards! After fifteen years working with environmental nonprofits in the Mojave Desert, I never pictured myself in Washington. The move came up fast, and when I realized the visit was turing into a move, I was concerned. What did I know about the ecology of the PNW? Could a desert guy really make a dent up here?

One day I was flipping through the local paper and noticed the North Olympic Salmon Coalition had an open position. Thirty years of restoration work, classrooms full of kids raising salmon, and more. Wild. I looked up some of their work. One project was nearby, and I checked it out. 

Decades ago a land bridge was built with locals to provide better access between the Olympic Peninsula and Marrowstone Island. However, that land bridge separated the waters of Kilisut Harbor and Oak bay, and over time Kilisut Bay's water quality was not great. Toxic blooms proliferated and other sea life were rare. NOSC spearheaded a project to remove the land bridge and put in its place a moden 440 foot bridge that keeps cars moving while allowing water to flow freely once again between the harbor and the bay. 5 years later, salmon and other sealife have returned and water quliaty is much improved. Groovy! I was hooked, and I moved fast to fill that position.

From the inside I experienced some of the org's education programs. Grade schoolers in a handful of schools grow coho salmon from eggs, all while learning about their lifecycle and habitat. After 4 months, the kids take a field trip for outdoor-oriented ecology lessons and the Big Moment - releasing their little charges into a local waterway, into the wild. Similar field trips I took at their age in California I remember to this day, and they were nothing like this. After seeing a few of these salmon release days I'm convinced these experiences will live with these kids, as well. Amazing!

So, friends, even if you don't live anywhere near here, please consider a donation to the Salmon Coalition during my little fundraiser here in honor of Washington's GiveBIG giving event. NOSC is moving the needle in the right direction for the environmental health of the North Olympic Peninsula and sparking curiosity in the next generation. Thanks!