Habitat Restoration Opportunities Abound on Orcas

Sound Stewardship Training Begins at Earth Day Work Party on April 21

By Rachel Benbrook

Hundreds of volunteers from all over Puget Sound have learned about nearshore habitat restoration and volunteer management through People For Puget Sound’s Sound Stewardship Program.  Participants have gained valuable experience and job skills by working with volunteer groups to restore shoreline habitats in their area.

Orcas Islanders will soon have an opportunity to participate in this free training program.   Volunteers are also needed to participate in a habitat restoration work party in celebration of Earth Day on April 21 at Cayou Lagoon near Deer Harbor.

People For Puget Sound, a regional non-profit environmental organization that is dedicated to restoring and protecting Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits, has been working with landowners on Orcas to restore shoreline habitats for close to 10 years.  The Orcas Sound Stewardship Program is being run by Rachel Benbrook, People For Puget Sound’s North Sound Restoration Ecologist.

Benbrook spent almost a decade working on the water and in the woods of Orcas and now lives on Guemes Island outside of Anacortes.  She says she loves working with islanders, and points out the importance of this region.  “Healthy shoreline habitats in the San Juans are critical to the survival of key species in this region, says Benbrook.  “For example, recent research has shown that the shores of Orcas are the first stop for juvenile Chinook Salmon- the favorite prey of our resident Orca whales- as they emerge from native rivers from all around the region.”  People For Puget Sound conducts several work parties a year at the Cayou Lagoon restoration site just outside of Deer Harbor, and hopes to add other projects on island soon.   Many Orcas students have already been involved in innovative science and stewardship.  Laura Tidwell, a science teacher at Orcas Middle School, has brought her class out to participate.  Tidwell notes that engagement in habitat restoration leads to “the empowerment of students to apply what they learn to real life situations to make a difference and realize the value of what they are learning in the classroom.”

Trained Sound Stewards are needed to help conduct work parties for local students and volunteer groups from around the region, and to help with scientific monitoring at restoration sites.  Sound Stewardship Training consists of an orientation and four class sessions that take place from April to November.  New Stewards can join throughout the year, and participation in all classes is not mandatory.

Classes include such topics as shoreline ecology, native plant identification, invasive plant control techniques, and volunteer management.  In return for 18 hours of training, Sound Stewards are asked to commit to 40 hours of volunteer work a year at local restoration projects on Orcas Island.

The first Sound Stewardship orientation is Friday, April 20 from 6-8 PM, and the first class session is the following day on Saturday, April 21 from 9 AM – 3 PM during the Earth Day work party, which is also open to the public.  To sign up, see a complete schedule of trainings, and to find more information on the program or habitat restoration on Orcas Island, see www.pugetsound.org/science or contact Rachel Benbrook at (360)230-1353 or rbenbrook@pugetsound.org.