Upcoming events
island county Preparedness Fair |
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September is National Preparedness month, and Island County Emergency Management and regional partners are hosting Preparedness Fair Saturday 9/30
Event booths will provide important information on being prepared for a disaster. Join us to learn valuable skills, win a prize, and prepare your loved ones for a disaster. This is a FREE event for all ages. North Whidbey Middle School, 67 NE Izett St., Oak Harbor from 10 AM to 2 PM Learn more |
Shoreline Resiliency Workshop
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Oct. 7 from 10-2 at Oak Harbor Library
If you own waterfront property in Island County, you may have questions about how to keep your home safe in the face of sea level rise, how to enhance critical habitat for fish, birds, and wildlife, and what steps you can take to keep your piece of the beach healthy. Join WICD Planner James Watson and county experts for a Shoreline Property Management for Habitat and Resiliency workshop! Learn More from Snoisle Libraries. |
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Presenters include: Island County Shore Friendly, Island County Marine Resources Committee, Island County Lead Entity, NorthWest Straits foundation
Topics covered: Shore Friendly assistance and microgrants program, fish habitat, shoreline habitat, coastal geomorphology, and house relocation
Topics covered: Shore Friendly assistance and microgrants program, fish habitat, shoreline habitat, coastal geomorphology, and house relocation
orca recovery day
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October 14th is Orca Recovery Day! 40+ events across Washington state offer opportunities for people to support Southern Resident Orca recovery. Led by Puget Sound Conservation Districts, and joined by dozens of nonprofits and agencies, Orca Recovery Day connects thousands of people in actions that can restore habitat, reduce stormwater pollution, and educate the public about marine ecosystems while building community.
Join us and our partners for these fun, family friendly events all week on Whidbey Island! |
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Help improve ORCA habitat with these fun educational and volunteer events!
Keystone Farm and Forest Work Party
10/10 - 9am-Noon
Keystone Preserve - Coupeville, WA
Registration
Help celebrate Orca Recovery Day at the Keystone Preserve for a sneak peak of protected ⅔ mile of shoreline not yet open to the public. This unique site combines a historic shoreline farmstead with acres of forest! You'll help improve upland Orca habitat by removing invasive blackberries and other weeds, and learn more about WCLT's work to restore and conserve this unique site. Visit Whidbey Island Conservation District's booth to learn more about how to support shoreline health and habitat, and snag some free give-aways!
Whidbey Camano Land Trust, Whidbey Island Conservation District
Cornet Bay Stewardship
10/14 - 10am-1pm
200 Cornet Bay Rd, Oak Harbor, WA 98277
Registration
Join the Northwest Straits Foundation and Island County MRC in stewarding the Cornet Bay and Hoypus Point restoration sites.
Haiku Orca
Youth
10/14 - 9:30-11am
Coupeville Library - 788 NW Alexander St, Coupeville, WA 98239
No Registration Required
Celebrate Orca Recovery Day by learning to write Haiku poetry about our friends in the sea and observing sea creatures up close in touch tanks. For all ages. Presented by Jen Gray, Interpretive Specialist for Washington State Parks Central Whidbey Area and Tabitha Jacobs-Mangiafico, Whidbey Coordinator for Sound Water Stewards of Island County.
And now for an Orca Haiku description:
Ocean fun for you,
Design marine theme Haiku,
Watercolors too!
Washington State Parks, Sound Water Stewards, SnoIsle Libraries
Orca Recovery Camp Action for Salmon (ORCAS)
Youth
10/14 - Two Camps: 10-11:30am & 1-3:30pm
Langley Whale Center, 105 Anthes Ave, Langley
Registration
Join Orca Network and Whidbey Camano Land Trust for Orca Recovery Camp Action for Salmon (ORCAS). This day camp provides fun and educational activities to help young naturalists and advocates learn about the connections between Southern Resident orcas and salmon, and what we can all do to help them both recover. The event will take place at Langley Whale Center (105 Anthes, Langley) and nearby Whale Bell Park.
The camp is FREE of charge, but we ask you to pre-register to give us an idea of how many will be attending. Kids of any age can sign up for either the morning or afternoon camp, but activities in the morning camp might be more appropriate for ages 5 to 8, and activities in the afternoon camp might be more appropriate for ages 9 to 12.
Orca and Salmon Health Start Uphill
10/15 - Noon-4pm
Greenbank Farm, 765 Wonn Rd, Greenbank
Registration
Join Island County Master Gardener Foundation and Sound Water Stewards for an educational and hands on event at Greenbank Farm featuring a rain garden volunteer work party and educational talk - Orca and Salmon Health Start Uphill - focusing on sustainable gardening practices. Learn about how the way we maintain our lawns, gardens and orchards can contribute to marine ecosystem health (or harm)!
10/10 - 9am-Noon
Keystone Preserve - Coupeville, WA
Registration
Help celebrate Orca Recovery Day at the Keystone Preserve for a sneak peak of protected ⅔ mile of shoreline not yet open to the public. This unique site combines a historic shoreline farmstead with acres of forest! You'll help improve upland Orca habitat by removing invasive blackberries and other weeds, and learn more about WCLT's work to restore and conserve this unique site. Visit Whidbey Island Conservation District's booth to learn more about how to support shoreline health and habitat, and snag some free give-aways!
Whidbey Camano Land Trust, Whidbey Island Conservation District
Cornet Bay Stewardship
10/14 - 10am-1pm
200 Cornet Bay Rd, Oak Harbor, WA 98277
Registration
Join the Northwest Straits Foundation and Island County MRC in stewarding the Cornet Bay and Hoypus Point restoration sites.
- 10am-12:15pm: Volunteers will be planting native plants and weeding to enhance the shoreline. A walking tour of the restoration sites will highlight how restoration at Cornet Bay and sites around the Sound help our Orcas.
- From 12:15-1pm: Join Northwest Straits Foundation’s Lisa Kaufman on an educational walk to Hoypus Point. Walk will be leaving from the Cornet Bay restoration site. The Hoypus Point restoration project was completed in 2022, where NWSF and the Island County MRC removed 350 feet of shoreline armor to restore nearshore processes to benefit forage fish, salmon, and Orcas.
Haiku Orca
Youth
10/14 - 9:30-11am
Coupeville Library - 788 NW Alexander St, Coupeville, WA 98239
No Registration Required
Celebrate Orca Recovery Day by learning to write Haiku poetry about our friends in the sea and observing sea creatures up close in touch tanks. For all ages. Presented by Jen Gray, Interpretive Specialist for Washington State Parks Central Whidbey Area and Tabitha Jacobs-Mangiafico, Whidbey Coordinator for Sound Water Stewards of Island County.
And now for an Orca Haiku description:
Ocean fun for you,
Design marine theme Haiku,
Watercolors too!
Washington State Parks, Sound Water Stewards, SnoIsle Libraries
Orca Recovery Camp Action for Salmon (ORCAS)
Youth
10/14 - Two Camps: 10-11:30am & 1-3:30pm
Langley Whale Center, 105 Anthes Ave, Langley
Registration
Join Orca Network and Whidbey Camano Land Trust for Orca Recovery Camp Action for Salmon (ORCAS). This day camp provides fun and educational activities to help young naturalists and advocates learn about the connections between Southern Resident orcas and salmon, and what we can all do to help them both recover. The event will take place at Langley Whale Center (105 Anthes, Langley) and nearby Whale Bell Park.
The camp is FREE of charge, but we ask you to pre-register to give us an idea of how many will be attending. Kids of any age can sign up for either the morning or afternoon camp, but activities in the morning camp might be more appropriate for ages 5 to 8, and activities in the afternoon camp might be more appropriate for ages 9 to 12.
- Morning Camp – geared for ages 5 to 8 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
- Afternoon Camp – geared for ages 9 to 12 1:00 PM– 3:30 PM
Orca and Salmon Health Start Uphill
10/15 - Noon-4pm
Greenbank Farm, 765 Wonn Rd, Greenbank
Registration
Join Island County Master Gardener Foundation and Sound Water Stewards for an educational and hands on event at Greenbank Farm featuring a rain garden volunteer work party and educational talk - Orca and Salmon Health Start Uphill - focusing on sustainable gardening practices. Learn about how the way we maintain our lawns, gardens and orchards can contribute to marine ecosystem health (or harm)!
- 12-2pm, Rain Garden Work Party; help us work in the Greenbank Farm Rain Garden to clear out some of the noxious weeds and to nurture the native plants and soil to improve water runoff filtration from the barn before it makes it into the local wetland and the Salish Sea.
- 2-4pm, Master Gardeners present Orca and Salmon Health Start Uphill, an educational talk on sustainable gardening practices. It’s not just factories that pollute our waterways. With over 80 million Americans living in single family homes, we have the potential to do much harm to our planet if we do not think about the way we maintain our lawns, gardens and orchards. We'll go into depth about:
- Soils and Compost – Healthy Soil Structure keeps pollutants out of our waterways - How to use organic fertilizers
- Water Quality – Landscaping to keep our runoff from going to the sea – catch that water runoff
- Non-toxic Yard Management – How to control pests, weeds, and plant diseases without using chemicals. Ways to discourage plant diseases organically – keeping orcas free from chemicals
- Using native plants in our yards to create a healthy, biodiverse landscape that supports pollinators and wildlife, both on land and sea. Replace your lawn with something that benefits wildlife!
Annual Native plant Sale
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Every winter, the Conservation District purchases a large order of native, bare root plants from the Plant Materials Center to redistribute through out our community. Bare root plants have the advantage of being cost efficient because they are shipped without soil! They also have stronger root systems and benefit from being transplanted in the winter.
Pre-ordering online typically begins Nov. 1 and ends in early January, with in person pick up in March. We promote natural resource conservation by providing quality, conservation-grade plants at wholesale prices to the public for use in conservation-related projects. Some examples of conservation projects include erosion control, riparian restoration, reforestation, backyard habitat enhancement, wetland restoration and wildfire mitigation. |
Land Stewardship 101
A webinar series devoted to the most requested topics from our community
These webinar recordings provide in depth education and hands on tips and tricks from our Natural Resource Planners.
These webinar recordings provide in depth education and hands on tips and tricks from our Natural Resource Planners.
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View Land Stewardship 101 Webinars
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