Photo Credit: Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)
Maybe your family has gone to the Ballard Locks in the summer to see the salmon pass through the fish ladder or you have visited a local river in the fall to see salmon spawning.​
But did you know salmon are a keystone species? From huge majestic orcas to tiny caddis flies, at least 137 other species need salmon! ​We can connect to salmon through wild plants and other animals all year long, even when we don't see them. (Salmon are literally in the trees!)​​​
This blog contains playful, seasonally connected activities and local outings to help your family understand the interconnectedness of salmon to our ecosystem. I offer simple stewardship opportunities to protect our watershed. Most activities can be done at or close to home with little or no cost and are fun for preschoolers to adults. Start where you are, and do one or do them all!
After using this guide, I hope your family will be saying,“Ask Me About Salmon” too! ​
T'igwicid,​
Teacher Becky​
I am “Teacher Becky," former occupational therapist, current Parent Education Instructor and mom of three. My nature connection began by taking my kids to local forests and beaches to get their wiggles out. One day, after I kept asking the naturalist at Golden Gardens beach questions, my wise 7 year old said, "Mommy, you should just be one of these volunteers!" (Thank you, WJC, for changing my life, again. xo)
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I have since volunteered for the Seattle Aquarium's Beach Naturalist Program and Cedar River Salmon Journey. I am a dedicated volunteer with Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project. I have completed Wilderness Awareness School's Wild Plant Intensive and The Native Plants and Food Institute's Plant Learning for Social Emotional Learning course. Through trees and salmon, I have fallen in love with the PNW and feel more connected here than any place I've ever lived.
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Plants are our teachers. Animals and tiny invertebrates are our neighbors. Salmon are not just amazing animals who are culturally significant to Coast Salish People. Their vitality is inextricably linked to our own. I want to do all I can to steward our watershed and improve habitat for salmon for the generations to come, so I created this guide of everything I want to tell you about salmon all year long. I hope you will have fun, feel connected and find something you love here too. And if you find a place or a species that you love, I hope you will feel called to steward and protect it for the next visitor.
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In joy, gratitude and waterproof shoes,
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T' igwicid
Teacher Becky
* The salmon picture on the top of the page is a watercolor design by Ashley Seabolt, an artist in Alaska. I have this sticker on my boots, my water bottle ond on my notebooks. I do not have any tattoos, but if I ever got one, this New Growth Salmon design would be it!
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