Camano Coming Events

This will be a virtual meeting. All participants will receive a link to use on their computer or phone allowing all to participate. 

Trip has been postponed. No new date has been selected. 

About the originally planned trip.....  Connections Trip to NEW BURKE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND CULTURE on the U of W campus

CONNECTIONS is hoping to charter a bus for this outing. Thursday, April 2nd will be a free admission day.  This outing should coincide with the blossoming of the cherry trees. We will allow three hours for touring and lunch. There is a good on-site cafe.  https://www.burkemuseum.org/

A full bus is 14 at $30 per person.  Once I'm assured of your interest I'll proceed.  
Contact Milla for further info.

This event has been cancelled. 

In Saratoga Passage

Join Sound Water Stewards of Island County on a Whale-Watching Cruise leaving from Langley Marina with Puget Sound Express on Sunday, April 5th, 2020, from 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm

To reserve space, call 360-678-4401

go to https://soundwaterstewards.org/events/whales/

or email info@soundwaterstewards.org.

   $75 per person includes a two and a half hour cruise, appetizers, beverages and on-board naturalists.

This is a fundraiser for Sound Water Stewards of Island County

Please click the link below for more details.

whale cruise 2020 PSE

Our regular monthly meeting format is uncertain at this time (3-25-2020). We will look at ways to get together virtually. Stay well and check your email for updates. 

Former Traditional Monthly Meeting Format: (not current)

9:30 AM: Meeting with reports, announcements, calendar items
10:30 AM: break, refreshments 
10:45 AM - noon: Featured Speaker 

About monthly meetings: SWS-Camano monthly meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at Cama Center. During the first hour we discuss what our citizen science, beach monitoring, sound toxins and many other teams have learned or done recently. And we present opportunities for upcoming involvement. All SWS are welcome. The public is welcome to attend as well, particularly for the Guest Speaker's Educational Presentation in the second half of the meeting. 

If the first Monday is a holiday, the meeting will be the following Monday.

NOTE: Discovery Pass is required to park at Cama Beach State Park. Tickets will be issued to people parking without a pass. If you don't have one, be sure to pick up a temporary purple pass signifying you are a local volunteer. The volunteer pass is only good for Camano's two state parks.

No FEE. No Discover Pass required. Just come enjoy one of our amazing state parks - Find a list of all the parks here: 
https://parks.state.wa.us/281/Find-a-Park

See future free dates here:
https://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/136/State-Parks-Free-Days

SWS Board Executive Committee Meeting: 10:00 am to noon. Virtual Meeting platform TBD. Contact Board President if you or your committee have a topic to be addressed. 

This meeting normally occurs on the 3rd Tuesday monthly but a week earlier in November and December 2020. 

Celebrate Earth Day with a trip to a state park!

No FEE. No Discover Pass required. Just come enjoy one of our amazing state parks - Find a list of all the parks here: 
https://parks.state.wa.us/281/Find-a-Park

See future free dates here:
https://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/136/State-Parks-Free-Days

Tentative outdoors activity/tour in the works - Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens are nonprofit gardens located at 3531 Meerkerk Lane, Greenbank, Washington.

Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day!

Stay tuned for more details.

SWS Board Meetings are generally held the 4th Tuesday of the month, normally 10:00 am to 12:00 or 12:30 pm. Location for March, April, May is Virtual. Meeting locations for subsequent dates are TBD.

Contact Board President to place an item on the Agenda. 

As of 3-12-2020, Camano Center on Arrowhead is closed until further notice due to Covid-19 precautions. IF the Center can re-open by 4/29 and the speaker can still make it to the event, we will also post that info here. IF we can reschedule it to a future date, we will post notice here.

Sound Water Stewards-Camano Speaker Series Presents:
From Island to Tidal Marsh: The Leque Island Estuary Restoration Project
with Loren Brokaw, WDFW on Wed, April 29, at Camano Community Center on Arrowhead

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! When Loren presented in January 2020, the Camano Library was overflowing. He agreed to come back and we found a larger venue!

Where did all that water come from that you now see as you cross the bridge connecting Camano Island to Stanwood? After removing the dike surrounding Leque Island on October 14, 2019, the first high tide entered the 250-acre area of Leque Island in 135+ years. This marked the beginning of the land transitioning back to an intertidal marsh. In this informative talk by Loren Brokaw, Restoration Projects Coordinator for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in the North Puget Sound region, you will:

• Learn about the history and future of the Leque Island Estuary Restoration Project.
• Discover how the project benefits species that rely on estuary habitat during their life cycle, including salmon, shorebirds, waterfowl and more.
• Find out about a new 0.7 mile long elevated walking trail and a non-motorized boat launch to allow people to enjoy the site.

Leque Island, west of Stanwood between Port Susan and Skagit bays, was once entirely saltwater marsh. Loren led the project to restore it and protect Stanwood in the process. 

Loren Brokaw is the Restoration Projects Coordinator for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in the North Puget Sound region, which extends from the Washington/Canada border down to just South of Seattle. Loren manages habitat restoration projects on WDFW lands to restore natural processes to benefit fish, wildlife, and their habitats. Much of his work involves partnering with local organizations, planning and executing stakeholder outreach plans, and securing grant funding to achieve habitat restoration. Loren was born and raised in Stanwood and his family has lived in the Stanwood Camano area for five generations.

Description: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Ducks Unlimited, and local contractor Strider Construction completed construction of the Leque Island Estuary Restoration Project in late 2019. This unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area is now re-opened to the public with two parking areas with water access.

Watch a video of breaching the dikes to open the estuary. 
https://vimeo.com/366614933 

Contact: Scott Chase

Details, including time, date, place or virtual - TBA

The future of this event is uncertain at this time (3-12-2020). 

During Iverson Days, Sound Water Stewards assist Stillaguamish Tribe Natural Resources Department with their forest and beach education experiences for 4th and 5th Graders from the Arlington schools. They experience a full day at Iverson Bay with hands-on activities and lessons on estuaries, wetlands, native plants, marine wildlife and tidal influences.

Volunteers are needed for May 6, June 3 & 4, 2020. Event is held at Iverson Beach Preserve. Learn more about this location at https://www.islandcountywa.gov/PublicWorks/Parks/Pages/iverson-preserve.aspx

SWS Board Executive Committee Meeting: 10:00 am to noon. Virtual Meeting platform TBD. Contact Board President if you or your committee have a topic to be addressed. 

This meeting normally occurs on the 3rd Tuesday monthly but a week earlier in November and December 2020. 

Save the Dates!

Sponsored by Friends of Camano Island Parks in partnership with Sound Water Stewards and Stillaguamish Tribe Natural Resources Department. Nature Discovery Days are an amazing beach and forest exploration experience when Stanwood Camano School District Second Graders spend one of two days at Camano Island State Park with FOCIP and SWS. Volunteers are interpreters in the forest, the estuary, and the beach allowing these young people a day outside to explore nature. Stewards volunteer in all three areas assisted by high school students from Stanwood's alternative Lincoln Hill High School. 

A whole day of training will precede this event. More details coming soon. 

LEARN MORE: the 2019 Nature Discovery Days and the 2018 NDD. 

Board meeting and all day retreat. 

SWS Board Meetings are generally held the 4th Tuesday of the month, normally 10:00 am to 12:00 or 12:30 pm. Location for March, April, May is Virtual. Meeting locations for subsequent dates are TBD.

Contact Board President to place an item on the Agenda. 

Tentatively, Kelsi Mottet from Whidbey Island Conservation District  will lead a group of up to 20 on a central Whidbey walk. **May be on a different day**

Stay tuned for location, details, and signup list.

This event is uncertain. Please check back closer to this date. 

Sound Water Stewards-Camano Speaker Series

Seth Luginbill, Program Coordinator, Island County Noxious Weed Control Board

Seth will describe how to identify noxious weeds, how to prevent them from spreading using environmentally safe methods and what assistance Island County can offer. 

Learn more:
https://www.islandcountywa.gov/Health/DNR/Noxious-Weed/Pages/Home.aspx

Contact: Scott Chase

Details, including time, date, place or virtual - TBA

During Iverson Days, Sound Water Stewards assist Stillaguamish Tribe Natural Resources Department with their forest and beach education experiences for 4th and 5th Graders from the Arlington area. They experience a full day at Iverson Bay with hands-on activities and lessons on estuaries, wetlands, native plants, marine wildlife and tidal influences.

Volunteers are needed for May 6, June 3 & 4, 2020. Event is held at Iverson Beach Preserve. Learn more about this location at https://www.islandcountywa.gov/PublicWorks/Parks/Pages/iverson-preserve.aspx

Celebrate National Trails Day (State Parks and Fish & Wildlife free day)

Both June 6 and 7 are FREE - make it a camping weekend!

No FEE. No Discover Pass required. Just come enjoy one of our amazing state parks - Find a list of all the parks here: 
https://parks.state.wa.us/281/Find-a-Park

See future free dates here:
https://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/136/State-Parks-Free-Days

Celebrate Fishing Day 

No FEE. No Discover Pass required. Just come enjoy one of our amazing state parks - Find a list of all the parks here: 
https://parks.state.wa.us/281/Find-a-Park

See future free dates here:
https://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/136/State-Parks-Free-Days

Celebrate National Get Outdoors Day 

No FEE. No Discover Pass required. Just come enjoy one of our amazing state parks - Find a list of all the parks here: 
https://parks.state.wa.us/281/Find-a-Park

See future free dates here:
https://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/136/State-Parks-Free-Days

SWS Board Executive Committee Meeting: 10:00 am to noon. Virtual Meeting platform TBD. Contact Board President if you or your committee have a topic to be addressed. 

This meeting normally occurs on the 3rd Tuesday monthly but a week earlier in November and December 2020.