Protecting Our Salmon

Farm News

As we head into the heart of July and blueberries are coming out of our ears, we are so happy to be hosting Stewardship Partners’ Feast on the farm. This fund-raising event for salmon-safe waterways is our favorite event on the farm hands down!

Taking some time to reflect on all of the amazing work they do, I spent some time sitting down with the crew that works in the Snoqualmie River area and specifically on our Griffin Creek restoration. The crew that works on tree plantings, river restoration and rain gardens, Geoff, Kirby and Laura, shared some of their favorite highlights so far this year.

All three had a special place for the rain garden completed at Carnation Elementary School in which conservation for salmon habitat was woven into their curriculum along with their rain garden. As many of the rain gardens are in urban areas, this one is in the more rural and quiet area of Carnation. This opportunity for the kids to recognize the impact of storm water runoff and how to care for eliminating all of the unwanted toxins from the road before they enter into salmon waterways was very powerful.

A new pilot study has been launched by the organization Green Bridges, a partnership to treat storm runoff from the bridge deck spans in the Seattle area. According to the study, “approximately 98 million gallons of untreated storm water enter the Lake Washington Ship Canal by way of roadway runoff from six bridges that span the waterway.” This is a crazy amount of toxins for the spawning and salmon habitat. For over 80 years, these toxins like brake fluid and asbestos build up in the water as a sludge and impact the salmon early in their development before they even have a chance to get out to the open waters. Cleaning the Puget Sound waters is a crucial piece to saving this important salmon migration corridor.

We ended our time thinking about our favorite bodies of water to relax by − Snoqualmie Falls, Mutiny Bay on Whidbey Island and Vivian Lake, a snowy alpine lake at the top of The Enchantments.

Don’t forget to find us on Instagram @fullcirclefarms.

– Wendy