Waterproof waders. Neoprene boots. White and yellow hard hats. Sturdy gloves. These are some of the items you might see our Washington Conservation Corps members wearing as they support the District’s restoration programs.

October was Urban and Community Forest Month! To celebrate, Snohomish Conservation District and the City of Marysville hosted a tree-planting ceremony at Comeford Park on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

Highway 2 follows the braids and bends of one of Washington’s most scenic rivers, the Skykomish. This river isn’t just beautiful, the Lower Skykomish River Reach contains some of the best habitat in the Snohomish River Basin for Chinook and other salmonids.

Keeping stormwater clean in urban spaces isn’t easy. When rain hits the ground and travels across surfaces like streets and parking lots, it picks up pollutants along the way before heading down a storm drain and into our waterways. But there are nature-based solutions, commonly referred to as Green Stormwater Infrastructure, that collect, slow, and filter stormwater.

This year’s crew contributed to over 20 acres of riparian planting and invasive maintenance, as well as constructed several rain gardens throughout Snohomish County. Read on to hear about their experiences at the District with WCC in their own words.

With the planting of a “multifunctional riparian forest buffer” the Pilchuck Julia Park is a new home to thousands of beautiful native trees and shrubs as well as hundreds of food producing trees and shrubs for the public to enjoy.

Watch a replay of our Perrinville Watershed webinar as well as scroll through the slides

Watch our onsite video from the Perrinville Watershed in November 2020 featuring our super productive Veterans Conservation Corps Crew.

“Orcatober” is officially in the books!

COVID-19 has been a disruption for all of us, but it couldn’t get in the way of recovery efforts for our Southern Resident Killer Whales. We were fortunate to be able to celebrate Orca Recovery Day with all who participated in our scavenger hunt, rain barrel sale and Eco Challenge.

The crew this year has been nothing short of fantastic. While a normal year can be challenging and requires a large amount of flexibility, the addition challenges, such as a January with 27 days of rain and suspension of field labor due to Covid-19, made this particular year unique.

Beavers definitely live in the City of Lake Stevens. Snohomish CD and the city work together to help keep them in place for the many benefits beavers provide. Check out our latest webinar talking about how to live with beavers.

“We’re so dependent on the food chain, how can we become more independent? How can we harken back to yesteryears?” Nuss asked. “[This project] is a great educational experience for our students who live in our techy, X-Box age.”