All Beach Watchers Activities

  • Advisory Council meets monthly to hear reports of ongoing projects, discuss potential new projects and fund raisers, and guide the use of Beach Watcher funds
  • Beach Log Report on Beach Watcher activities in the Beach Log newsletter and/or on the web site.
  • Beach Naturalists Interact with the public to foster an understanding of how to enjoy and at the same time preserve our fragile intertidal zones.
  • Birds - COASST Provide data on dead birds found while walking the beach, for use by UW School of Fisheries.
  • Bones !! Develop museum display from dead mammals found on our beaches.
  • Booths at Public Events Provide educational games about our Island County environment, flora and fauna at public events like the Island County Fair or the Penn Cove festival.
  • Digging for Dinner Provide workshops on how to take advantage of the food source right on our beaches.
  • Environmental Curricula Support environmental studies in our schools.
  • General Office Help Help the Beach Watchers Coordinators with general office assistance.
  • Green Algae Bloom Research Help researchers from Shannon Point Marine Center conduct studies on the unusual abundance of green algae blooms.
  • Intertidal Monitoring Yearly detailed survey of our beaches, to keep baseline data over time on inverterbrates, seaweeds, and beach condition.
  • Invasive Stuff - Green Crab Monitoring Check trabs for the invasive European Green Crab, and notify WA State Dept of Fish and Wildlife.
  • Lighthouse Tours Volunteer as a guide at Admiralty Head Lighthouse
  • Mapping Projects Develop a composite map of Camano Island, for use by the general public.
  • Marine Education Center - Coupeville Wharf Expand the Wharf breezeway exhibits to help the public understand the significance of water resources ofr marine life.
  • Marine Mammal Stranding Network Protect stranded mammals (and educate public on what -not- to do), do necropsies on dead mammals found on the beach.
  • Monofilament Recovery and Recycle Program Build and distribute container for collecting this plastic fishing line.
  • Nasty Stuff - Creosoted Logs Find, quantify and remove creosote debris on the beaches, to reduce pollution to the marine habitat.
  • Nasty Stuff - Beach Litter and Marine Debris Remove from our beaches the litter and marine debris that pose a hazard to both marine and human life.
  • Noxious Weeds - Spartina Identify and remove this noxious weed from our beaches before it wipes out native species.
  • Oil Spill Assessment Team Train volunteers to quickly assess oil spill events, and contact the State Dept of Ecology prior to deployment of emergency clean up crews.
  • Plastics Educate the public about plastic pollution and monitor plastic on the beaches.
  • Puget Sound Starts Here - Whidbey Increase awareness of the magnitude of Puget Sounds pollution problem, and of ci tizen behaviors to reduce it.
  • Recycling - Tires and Pots Help at Coupeville each spring to program to recycle old tires and garden pots - to prevent disease, recycle, and raise funds for Waste Wise and Beach Watchers.
  • Seining Track juvenile salmon in our pocket estuaries
  • Shore Stewards Provide educational materials for shore-line property owners to be proper stewards of this fragile resource.
  • Sound Gardens One day program on Camano ...
  • Sound Waters One day "university for all" on Whidbey.
  • Testing - Shellfish Provide data on butter clams and mussels to WA State Dept of Health to identify potential Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning.
  • Testing - Water Quality Take water samples at public beaches during the summer on behalf of the Island County Health Department.
  • Travel With Beach Watchers Develop travel plans -- for fun, fellowship, and bonding among Beach Watchers, and to raise funds.
  • Watersheds Help with the Outdoor Classroom, or streamside restoration projects with Whidbey Watershed Stewards.
  • Web Site Help to maintain and grow the website as a resource for the general public to learn about how "Everything is Connected!"
  • Whidbey 101 Provide overview of programs with an environmental stewardship theme at this twice a year workshop in Freeland.
WSU Extension - Island County, P.O. Box 5000 Coupeville, WA 98239-5000 USA    360-679-7327    Contact Us