The Give Jefferson Campaign kicked-off this month! We are raising money through Give Jefferson to support our Salmon in the Schools Elementary Program. You can donate to our program directly or you can donate to the UGN General Fund, which supports all 30+ community organizations participating in Give Jefferson. Your donation supports critical programs and safety-net services that provide food, shelter, healthcare, education, and hope. Donate now through Dec. 31 to support local community programs.

Giving to NOSC supports our Salmon in the Schools program - a hands-on, exploratory learning program where students learn about the life cycle of salmon, environmental stewardship, the importance of salmon to Pacific Northwest commerce and culture and healthy ecosystems by raising coho salmon from eggs in their classroom. Through the program, we help over 180 Jefferson County 1st-3rd graders raise coho salmon at their schools in classroom aquariums, provide in-class lessons, and host a learning-packed field trip where students release the young salmon fry into a local stream. Teachers involve students in caring for their fish, monitoring water chemistry, and documenting fish behavior. The growing salmon find their way into art, science, math, reading, and writing. By the time students release their salmon into local streams at the end of the school year, they feel connected to their salmon and personally invested in protecting them. To learn more about the program, head to our site- Salmon in the Schools | North Olympic Salmon Coalition (nosc.org)

Devoting resources to our children’s education is more pertinent than ever as we start to understand the learning impacts to students after many months of school closures and remote learning because of the pandemic. School testing in math and reading reported by the National Center for Education Statistics has shown significant impacts on student learning.

The decline in test scored impacted students across demographics but was significantly worse for the students who were already struggling, with students in the bottom percentile recording four times the drop in math scores as students in the highest percentile.

Students need an investment in their education. Salmon in the Schools provides unique, hands-on, experiential, and exploratory learning experiences for elementary school students. Opportunities such as Salmon in the Schools provide rich, engaging opportunities to get students excited about learning.

As the rainy season strikes, a new resource has hit the web: Rural Stormwater Solutions! 

This new website is the result of a collaboration between WSU Extension and the Washington Stormwater Center. It includes educational materials such as videos, fact sheets, a white paper, demonstration sites, a glossary of terms, and more in-depth resources. If you have a problem with rural stormwater runoff this website may have the solution for you. Check it out: ruralstormwater.wsu.edu

When a salmon dies after spawning, it leaves a treasure trove of nutrients for a vast network of its ecosystem companions. It is through this lens that I think about the passing of our longest-serving board member, Richard Wojt. Richard served on the NOSC Board of Directors for uncountable years. He was here at the beginning of the organization and served even as he started swimming upstream on his final journey. As a celebrated educator at the Chimacum school, he helped give backbone to the idea of NOSC taking on focused education programs, nodding sagely when the notion was put forward a decade ago. This slight nod drew the respect of his fellow members, and in the end, they agreed to branch out to educate our youth as a way to achieve long-term resource sustainability. He encouraged us to seek program funding from the Sunrise Rotary on which he served and gave generously himself. We could always count on Richard to bring an important skill he no doubt learned as a County Commissioner – at the end of every meeting he attended he ‘moved to adjourn’ – which was always followed by hearty concurrence of the other board members. Though Richard has called his last meeting to a close, his presence will nourish our organization, our community, and our memories for untold years to come.

~Executive Director, Rebecca Benjamin~