||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWIAHT |||
Orcas Middle School student Solomon Ross has been selected as this year’s Indian Island Youth Steward! Solomon is enthusiastic about marine biology, but he says that his real reason for seeking this particular position is his interest in people. With more than 4,000 visitors every summer on a few acres of beach, Indian Island is an ever-changing outdoor classroom as well as a growing crowd-management challenge.
Each year, Kwiaht chooses a local student to meet, greet, guide, and inform visitors toIndian Island on about fifty minus-tide days from June through August when the island is easily walkable. Assisted by Kwiaht biologists and adult volunteers, each summer’s Youth Steward is the face of Indian Island to visitors, and a representative of the Orcas community encouraging visitors to respect the fragile nature of the island and explore it responsibly. Youth Stewards
truly earn the scholarship that comes with successful completion of the summer’s work.
Solomon was one of an unprecedented 11 middle and high school applicants for the2025 Youth Steward. “It was not an easy choice,” says Kwiaht director Russel Barsh. “There area lot of enthusiastic and principled young islanders out there looking for meaningful work.”
The scholarship, and other costs associated with stewardship, education and monitoring of Indian Island, are supported each year by Orcas islanders through the Orcas Island Community Foundation’s GiveOrcas campaign, which this year runs from May 6 to May 16.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
