Youth Education Day at Lake Ballinger

On July 16, we had an action-packed Youth Education Day, hosted by the City of Mountlake Terrace.  Families joined in on the fun: 36 adults and 34 youth ventured to Lake Ballinger to learn about water conservation and how they can protect the rivers, streams, and lakes in their communities. 

Kai, a child who attended the event, could be heard shouting, “This is the best day ever!” as soon as he arrived. Needless to say, Kai’s family had a swimmingly good time!

Salmon art gallery

Families spent the morning visiting different tables, or “conservation stations,” and enjoying games, demonstrations, and activities focused on water conservation. 

The activity at one station involved making native seed balls using clay, soil, water, and seeds. When one group of children preferred to sit on the ground rather than come to the table, our staff sat right down with them and made seed balls using soil that was very locally sourced. After making their seed balls, families watched a soil filtration demonstration to learn how native plants and healthy soil help filter stormwater. Kids took their seed balls home to plant in a garden or park and help clean runoff in their own neighborhoods.

At another station, families tested the temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, phosphate, and turbidity levels of a water sample from Lake Ballinger. They learned why it’s important to monitor water quality and brainstormed actions they could take to make sure Lake Ballinger’s water stays healthy. Youth were excited to gather data alongside the real life water quality scientist running the station!

Children were also able to watch a watershed demonstration to learn how rainwater collects pollution as it flows downhill and into a body of water. Many of them had never considered how polluted stormwater in one part of the watershed could affect water somewhere else. With this new knowledge in mind, they created salmon-inspired masterpieces to hang in our art gallery while talking about ways to prevent pollution at home so they could protect salmon habitat many miles away.

Last but not least, kids played the Poop Toss Game, where they learned how to fight poo-lution by competing to see who could throw the most (fake) pet waste in a garbage can. Many smiling parents picked up an “I Scoop Poop” sticker to put on their garbage bins at home so they could proudly show off their commitment to putting pet waste where it belongs–in the trash!

Everyone had a fantastic day learning and laughing at Lake Ballinger. We hope to participate in many more events like this and can’t wait to keep empowering children and their families to protect water!

poop toss game

Water quality testing

watershed demo