WSU Skagit Beach Watcher Training
Love Puget Sound?
Want to learn a ton?
Then join WSU Beach Watchers!
2012 training dates are March 27 – May 11, 2012.
Thank you to our program sponsors:
Application Deadline for Class of 2012 training:
Wednesday, February 27, 2012
The schedule will be posted in early 2012. Class size is limited so there is an application process - all applications are due February 27. There is also a $30 materials fee (scholarships are available). Click here to download an application. To request an application via mail or to register for future training notifications, contact Nancy Olsen, Program Coordinator at nancyo@co.skagit.wa.us or (360) 428-4270, ext. 223.
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"It’s a great way to get yourself outdoors, learn about our incredible environment here on the edge, and lend a hand in helping to preserve and restore the health of Puget Sound." - Jan Hersey, Class of 2008
Many people become WSU Beach Watchers because they’re curious about the shore, about Puget Sound, about what lives in or near the water and the natural processes at work. They’re curious too about how our actions affect the Sound and its life and how we can make a positive difference.
Becoming a Beach Watcher begins with a 100-hours of university-level training. This training program includes expert presentations, field trips and hands-on practice. In return, Beach Watchers continue learning while volunteering at least 100 hours over two years as citizen scientists, educators, restorationists and project planners.
As the program’s name implies, Beach Watcher training includes an introduction to the things that live on the beach and near shore and the processes at work there. Topics include:
- coastal processes,
- marine organism identification,
- water quality conditions,
- public education tips,
- climate change,
- planned restoration efforts
But it includes so much more: how the Skagit watershed relates to the Sound, the threats posed by introduced plants and animals, oil spill response and its organization, why maintaining septic systems is so important, etc.
Many join WSU Beach Watchers hoping to satisfy their curiosity about this place where we live, and they end up learning about things they had never anticipated. The topics of the initial Beach Watcher training are varied enough to address each volunteer’s interests and then to expand them in new directions.
If you’ve ever wondered: How do tides work? What’s the status of killer whales in Puget Sound? Do shoreline bulkheads have any environmental effect? What are all those strange and interesting things I see on the beach at low tide? What are forage fish and why do they matter? Why this big concern about storm water runoff? How can I (one person!) make a difference in protecting the environmental quality of Puget Sound. Then sign up for WSU Beach Watcher training!