I am amazed at the timing of events in my cosseted little life. Everyone who knows anything about me knows I thoroughly enjoy walking out along the beach here in Birch Bay, rain or shine. Because I hadn’t seen any books or fun stuff for kids to do in Birch Bay, I thought it would be fun to create something! I’ve pulled together some ideas about how kids could collect and identify and catalog shells and pebbles and such that they find along the beach here; and which areas of the bay they’ll be able to find specific specimens.Immediately on the heels of that grand scheme, I “happened” to learn about the program for volunteer beach naturalists established to help educate beachgoers about the local marine environment, how to respect this resource, and how we can each become better stewards of the shoreline.
Through the instruction sessions I’ve learned that it is NOT a good idea for people to take away shells and such that they find along the beach, and we’re encouraged to discourage beach visitors from collecting items. There are so many critters that re-use vacated shells, or that depend upon and live in the debris along the shore, rocks and tide pools. There is a direct impact if these small but vital elements are taken away!
According to Ted Morris, manager of the Birch Bay State Park, the annual campground attendance count is about 900,000 visitors, the biggest draw to the park being the beach access with some of the best clamming and crabbing (in season) in the Puget Sound area. Imagine if each of those 900,000 visitors took home a bunch of stuff from the beach!
According to Ted Morris, manager of the Birch Bay State Park, the annual campground attendance count is about 900,000 visitors, the biggest draw to the park being the beach access with some of the best clamming and crabbing (in season) in the Puget Sound area. Imagine if each of those 900,000 visitors took home a bunch of stuff from the beach!
Yikes! I will gladly re-organize my children’s beachcombing project!
I find it remarkable and oh so timely that I would fall into THE perfect activity to provide me with the appropriate insight for pulling together a book for kids; just in the nick o’time!
If you want to learn more about the Beach Naturalist Program made possible by volunteers and the North Sound Baykeeper, a project of RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, with partial funding from REI (http://www.rei.com/) please contact Doug Stark at dougs@re-sources.org or call (360) 733-8307.
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