Last Saturday, 260 people attended a one-day “university” in Coupeville called “Sound Waters – Living on the Edge.” For only $15 they spent a full day in classes on such subjects as marine mammals, commercial fishing, bluff erosion, native plants, natural history of crabs and mussels, care of septic systems and more.
“Sound Waters” is offered annually to the community by the volunteers of the WSU Beach Watchers program. Designed in 1990 by Don Meehan, chair of Washington State University’s Cooperative Extension program in Island County, the program has trained 12 classes of volunteers. In 2002, Beach Watchers volunteered more than 12,600 hours, the equivalent of six full-time employees, toward fostering environmental stewardship in Island County. They collected scientific data on 34 beaches. Their public education programs reached more than 4,000 people.
“And some people thought ‘Beach Watchers’ meant a club of folks who just like to walk the beach,” Sarah Schmidt, Beach Watchers coordinator, said in a press release. “In truth, they are county residents who care enough about this place we live in to devote many hours of volunteer time to fostering environmental stewardship in our county.”
The next Beach Watchers course begins March 10 and involves 100 hours of training from 30 to 40 expert instructors teaching about natural processes and human impacts from the top of the watershed out to the marine water. Subjects include forestry, farming, wetlands, marine biology, nonpoint pollution, septic systems (which most people have in this county), bluff erosion processes, shoreline regulations and more.
The training is free. In return, those who attend agree to volunteer a minimum of 100 hours over two years toward educating the public on water quality or related issues.
Donna Keeler, watershed planning coordinator for Island County Health Department, took the Beach Watcher training.
“If you walk one of several beaches in Island County, chances are you will encounter a ‘pod’ of creatures wearing blue jackets and hats,” Keeler said. “They will be carrying sticks, ropes and squares, and other strange objects, and observing the ground with intense interest. If you feel drawn to them, don’t be surprised. Their enthusiasm and passion will be too alluring to resist. They will tell you they are the Island County Beach Watchers.”
Keeler said she was “humbled” by the high caliber of instructors, many at a doctoral level, who were willing to spend a day sharing their knowledge and expertise.
“No other course anywhere offers such a variety of topics and presenters,” she said.
And Beverly Isenson of the Governor’s Council on Environmental Education said Beach Watchers is the example cited when trying to persuade others to fund similar programs in other places.
All the applicants for the program are interviewed to make sure they understand the program’s mission and the need for a commitment to volunteering, Schmidt said.
“We look for self-motivated, resourceful volunteers,” she said.
Some volunteers speak at schools and community meetings. Others lead beach walks, give nature talks, or troll the shorelines, picking up trash and ridding areas of noxious weeds.
Schmidt said that with budget cuts to WSU Extension, fund-raising volunteers are also needed.
“We recently launched Friends of Beach Watchers, a vehicle for anyone interested in supporting the work of the organization financially,” she said “We also need computer-savvy volunteers to help upgrade the scope and efficacy of the Web site and assist with database development.”
